02 May 2017 
Emma Keenan, Procurement Specialist
You may be aware of the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance regulations 2017. These regulations, which came into force in April, require that those organisations affected, must publish, on an online portal provided by the government, their payment practices policies and performance on a 6-monthly basis. The reporting requirement applies only to large companies and LLPs (regardless of whether they are private, public or quoted).
Whilst we do not believe that these regulations will affect the vast majority of HEIs, it may affect any which are limited by guarantee or potentially any company/LLP subsidiaries of an HEI if they meet the thresholds in their own right, even if the “parent” university is not caught by the Regulations. So, for example, where a university incorporated by Royal Charter owns a large spin-out company which itself qualifies.
We consulted Jenny Beresford-Jones at legal firm Mills and Reeve who confirmed that, “we think that (a) Higher Education Corporations /other statutory corporations – incorporated under the Education Reform Act 1988/other legislation rather than the Companies Acts and (b) universities incorporated by Royal Charter will both be outside the scope of these Regulations, as these institutions are not “companies”.
However, we recommend that if you believe your institution or any of your subsidiary companies may be affected you seek your own legal advice. The full regulations and further information can be viewed here.
