Local Labour AM Gwenda Thomas today welcomed figures which show that the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government is leading the way in paying its bills to Welsh companies in record time.
According to the latest figures, the Assembly Government took an average of 5.89 days to pay for invoices between April and October this year, with fewer than five per cent of payments taking longer than ten days.
The Labour-led Assembly Government also recently agreed to increase the proportion of payments made within ten days and to work to ensure that the thirty day target for payments is met across the public sector in Wales.
Gwenda Thomas AM said:
"The Assembly Government’s excellent record of paying its bills on time will be welcome news to businesses across Wales during the current global economic difficulties. It’s good to see Labour in the Welsh Assembly once again leading the way and showing how it should be done.
I also welcome the fact that the Assembly Government wants to improve its payment record even further and I want to see all public sector bodies in Wales playing their part in improving the time in which they pay their bills.
Paying their bills on time is one of the best ways that public bodies like Councils and Government Departments can help our smaller and medium sized businesses get through these global economic difficulties.
The Assembly Government’s payment record is also in stark contrast to the way in which the Tories are acting in some parts of Wales. I am glad to see that the Labour -run Neath Port Talbot Borough Council pays over 93% of its bills in 30 days, this compares with Tory-led Monmouthshire's poor record of only paying 40% in 30 days. The Tories claim to be the party of business, what help are they giving to business by taking so long to pay their bills?
This just goes to show how big the gap is between what the Tories say and what they do when they are in power at any level. "