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Care Services Payment Practices Report 2023

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

UK Care Services Payment Performance: Above Average, But With Troubling Disparities

The Numbers

  • Companies analysed: 121
  • Average PaymentCheck Score: 76.3/100
  • UK average (all sectors): 50.0/100
  • Care Services average above UK average: 26.3 points
  • Wales average (1 company): 90.6/100
  • North East average (4 companies): 83.3/100
  • East Midlands average (11 companies): 80.9/100
  • North West average (7 companies): 80.6/100
  • London average (18 companies): 78.5/100
  • Top payer score: 99.4/100 (TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED)
  • Bottom payer score: 33.04/100 (LLOYDS CLINICAL LIMITED)

What Stands Out

The UK Care Services sector demonstrates payment performance significantly better than the national average, with a score of 76.3 out of 100. However, a chasm exists between the best and worst payers, with LLOYDS CLINICAL LIMITED scoring a concerning 33.04, highlighting potential cash flow problems for their suppliers and the need for those suppliers to use a late payment calculator. The fact that the sector average is so high masks the reality that some companies are dragging down the sector's reputation.

Best Payers

  1. TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED - 99.4/100
  2. BLIND VETERANS UK - 98.98/100
  3. THE ACTIVE LEARNING TRUST LIMITED - 98.17/100
  4. CARE UNBOUND LIMITED - 97.57/100
  5. WEST NORFOLK ACADEMIES TRUST - 97.5/100

Worst Payers

  1. LLOYDS CLINICAL LIMITED - 33.04/100
  2. MEARS GROUP PLC - 35.3/100
  3. TJX UK - 37.14/100
  4. SOMERSET CARE LIMITED - 41/100
  5. ALTERNATIVE FUTURES GROUP LIMITED - 43.3/100

Regional Patterns

Regional data is skewed by the small sample sizes, particularly in Wales (one company with a score of 90.6). Although London has more companies (18), its average PaymentCheck score of 78.5 is relatively low compared to the North East and East Midlands, suggesting potential payment pressures within London's Care Services companies. It's hard to draw firm conclusions without a bigger dataset, however.

One-line takeaway: Despite an impressive sector average of 76.3, the gap of 66.36 points between top and bottom payers shows some suppliers are being treated unfairly.