TRANSPORT FOR WALES
Company number: 09476013
Reporting period:
1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026
Report filed on:
29 October 2026
Approved by:
Heather Clash
Contracts and payments
Do any of this business's construction contracts with its suppliers include retention clauses? Yes
Payment statistics
Average time taken to pay invoices: 17 days
Total value paid:
- within 30 days: £348,674,213 (97%)
- in 31 to 60 days: £6,210,337 (2%)
- in 61 days or more: £3,345,135 (< 1%)
Invoices paid:
- within 30 days: 91%
- in 31 to 60 days: 8%
- in 61 days or more: 1%
Late and disputed:
- total value of payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: £14,803,091
- payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: 12%
- not made in the reporting period due to a dispute: 2%
Payment terms
Shortest standard payment periods
30 days
Longest standard payment period
Answer not provided
Standard payment terms
It is the company's policy to agree appropriate payment terms with suppliers and to honour those payment terms based on the timely receipt of valid invoices. The company's standard payment terms are 30 days from receipt of invoice. In some instances, we contract with suppliers on their own payment terms which are usually less than the company's standard of 30 days from receipt of invoice. Wherever these differences arise, and so long they are stated within a mutually signed contract, we seek to honour to the supplier's own payment terms following the timely receipt of valid invoices.
Were there any changes to the standard payment terms in the reporting period?
Adjustment of our default Purchase Order terms to 30 days from 28 aligned to Procurement Act default terms. TfW aims to pay suppliers as soon as invoice is approved for payment (earlier than the standard term) and contracts with separate terms were not impacted by this change - as such no consultation was considered necessary.
Were suppliers notified or consulted about these changes before they were made?
No
Maximum contractual payment period agreed
60 days
No further comment provided
Any other information about payment terms
No further comment provided
Retention clauses
How does this business use retention clauses?
Retention clauses are used in specific circumstances:
Only on projects with specific cost control requirements from external clients/stakeholders
Does this business only use retention clauses in construction contracts above a specific contract sum?
No
Does this business use a standard percentage rate in retention clauses?
No
Does this business apply retention clause practices that are no more onerous than those applied to it on the same project?
No
Releasing money under a retention clause
Process for releasing money this business has deducted or retained under a retention clause
Our retention clauses are on a case-by-case basis - current clauses are released on Completion of the Whole of the Works and then at the issuing of the Defects Certificate
Is the money released in stages?
Yes:
Our retention clauses are on a case-by-case basis - current clauses released 50% at Completion, the remainder at Defects Certificate
Amount retained from suppliers in the reporting period
Amount retained stated as a percentage of the money retained from this business by its clients
0%
Amount retained stated as a percentage of the total construction payments made by this business
0%
Dispute resolution process
The company seeks to deal with all suppliers in a fair and reasonable manner, aiming to proactively respond to and address queries and/or challenges as soon as they arise. In the event that a financial dispute cannot be resolved by the Transport for Wales Accounts Payable Team, it would then be escalated to the management team within the finance department. In the event of a contractual dispute, such as the delivery of obligations and/or performance, individual project teams are responsible for addressing it in the first instance, with escalated support provided by the Contract Management Team. Further support is also provided by the Supply Chain Team where multiple disputes become a common practice with any single supplier.
Other payment information
Has this business signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices? If so, which?
For example, signatories to The Fair Payment Code must commit to paying 95% of their invoices within 60 days.
No, this business has not signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices.
Does this business offer e-invoicing in relation to qualifying contracts?
This is where suppliers can electronically submit and track invoices. It's not just allowing suppliers to email them an invoice.
No
Does this business offer supply chain finance?
This is where a supplier who has submitted an invoice can be paid by a third-party finance provider earlier than the agreed payment date. The business would then pay the finance provider the invoiced sum.
No
Under its payment practices and policies, can this business deduct sums from payments under qualifying contracts as a charge for remaining on a supplier list?
No
During the reporting period, did the business deduct sums from payments as a charge for remaining on a supplier list?
No