FOI/2026/27/27

Your Request:

 

Please provide, preferably in Microsoft Excel or an equivalent machine-readable format, the following information in respect of suppliers which were not paid within 30 days for the period 1 April 2019 to the date of this request:

1. Supplier Name
2. Invoice Date
3. Gross Invoice Value (inclusive of VAT)
4. Payment Date
5. Late Payment Compensation or Interest Paid (if any)

Together with the following additional fields, which the Trust has previously confirmed are held within the finance system, where they can be included without significant additional effort:

• Invoice Number / Invoice Reference
• Invoice Received Date
• Invoice Due Date
• Invoice Approved Date
• Invoice Payment Terms
• Invoice Query or Dispute Flag (e.g. yes/no)

Reason for Invoice Query, Dispute, or Delay

 

Our Response

 

Section 43 – Commercial Interest

Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity). Disclosure of the requested information could prejudice pending or future negotiations the CLCH may be subject to.

 

This is a qualified exemption under the FOIA, which means that consideration must also be given to whether in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favouring disclosure is greater than the public interest in maintaining the exemption. The public interest means what is in the best interests of the public not what is of interest to the public.

 

Factors in favour of discloser:  

• Disclosing information relating to the value of the rent charged would benefit the public interest by encouraging transparency. 
• Disclosing information relating to [1 - 5] would promote accountability and transparency by showing how CLCH receive and spend public money. 

 

Factors in favour of non-disclosure: 

• Disclosing the [1 - 5] would undermine our competitive position in the marketplace. 
• Disclosing the [1 - 5] would compromise the commercial activities of CLCH, as it would compromise its ability to negotiate competitive future deals.
• Disclosure of the [1 - 5], is likely to lead to reputational and financial damage which would affect future investments and have a knock-on effect to the money raised for the health economy.

 

 

Having considered the above, we maintain that the factors in favour of upholding the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure. Therefore, the balance of the public interest test is greater in maintaining the exemption available under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.