Cabinet Minister Francis Maude is encouraging subcontractors to anonymously report late payers.

He said: “Prompt payment is crucial to smaller companies.

“The Government has an excellent record on paying our bills quickly and we expect our suppliers to do the same and pay subcontractors well within the 30 day limit.

“When work has been done, especially by an SME, it is just inexcusable not to pay up quickly for that service.

“We will be keeping a close eye on how the big suppliers choose to pay their subcontractors and we won’t shy away from naming and shaming those that we find have failed to pay promptly.”