Moved by
Lord Stoneham of Droxford
11: After Clause 6, insert the following new Clause—
“Repeated complaints: late payments
(1) Where—
(a) the Commissioner determines that a particular respondent has been the subject of repeated complaints relating to the late payment of invoices,
(b) the respondent concerned is a large business,
(c) the Commissioner has considered the complaints and made a determination which has included recommendations to the respondent, and
(d) the respondent has repeatedly failed to make changes recommended by the Commissioner,
the Commissioner may request that the Secretary of State propose a fine on the respondent.
(2) Where a request is made by the Commissioner under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must issue a fine to the relevant respondent unless the Secretary of State considers such a fine would be damaging to the long-term viability of the respondent’s business.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulation make further provisions to support the effective functioning of this section including, but not limited to—
(a) the definition of “repeated complaints” for the purpose of this section,
(b) the definition of “large business”,
(c) the maximum level of fine that may be levied,
(d) whether a different maximum level should be prescribed based on the size of the respondent’s business, and
(e) the test by which the Secretary of State should consider the long-term viability of the business.
(4) Regulations under this section must be made by statutory instrument, and may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”