FI15770

Request

I am writing to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please accept this as a formal request for information regarding late payments made by the Council to its suppliers, contractors, and sub-contractors during the past six (6) years. Requested Information:

For the period covering the last 6 years from the date of this request, please provide the following:

1. A complete list of all suppliers, contractors, and sub-contractors who have received late payments beyond agreed terms.

For each entry, where available, please include:

-  Business name

-  Business address

-  Contact email (where non-personal and appropriate)

-  Invoice number(s)

-  Invoice issue date(s)

-  Payment due date(s)

-  Actual payment date(s)

-  Invoice amount

-  Number of days late (if applicable)

-  Whether statutory late payment interest and/or fixed compensation was applied

2. The total amount of late payment interest and/or compensation paid under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for each year within this 6-year period.

3. Copies of any current council policies or internal procedures regarding payment terms and practices related to suppliers, contractors, and sub-contractors.

Format Requested:

Please provide the requested data in a format such as Excel or CSV for ease of analysis. Clarification:

If full 6-year coverage exceeds the statutory cost limits, please provide:

-  The most recent 12-month period, OR

-   Annual segments beginning with the most recent year available

Response

The majority of the information you are seeking is already available on the Council’s website as part the payment to suppliers’ data, which is published in accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. 

The information can be found here: https://www.dover.gov.uk/Corporate-Information/Financial-Information/Payments-to-Suppliers/Payments-to-Suppliers.aspx.  The payments are identified under both the Cost Centre and Nominal Code as follows: Cost Centre Description - Special Fees and Payments and Nominal Code Description - Debt Management Fees. 

The Transparency Code does not require the Council to publish the following information: 

• Business address
• Contact email (where non-personal and appropriate)
• Invoice issue date(s)
• Payment due date(s)
• Number of days late (if applicable
• Whether statutory late payment interest and/or fixed compensation was applied 

I can confirm that the Council holds this information but is not part of a standard report.  As it is not readily available and from our preliminary assessment, we have estimated that the cost of complying with this part request would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’.   The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for Local Government it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2½ working days in determining whether the information is held, locating, retrieving and extracting the data. I regret therefore, that on this occasion I must refuse this part your request in accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act. 

In respect of the invoice number, this data is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act.  The Council believes that disclosing this information could make the Council a target of fraud or crime. Section 31(1)(a) says that we do not need to provide information that would be likely to prejudice the functions of law enforcement – the prevention and detection of crime.  

Additionally, the Local Transparency Guidance issued by the Local Government Association regarding publishing spending and procurement information advises against publishing invoice numbers and order numbers (see paragraph titled Transaction numberon page 13 where is states "The National Anti-fraud Network (NAFN) has advised us that invoice and order numbers should not be used, as they can be used for fraudulent claims" https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publishing-spending-and-p-485.pdf.

Attachments

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

 

Internal Review Documents

Internal Review Request:

I am writing to request an internal review of the refusal of part of the request under Section 12 and Section 31(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Firstly, I acknowledge the justification under Section 31(1)(a) for withholding invoice numbers and am happy to confirm that invoice or order numbers are not required for the purposes of this request.

However, I believe that the application of Section 12 to the rest of the requested data may not be appropriate as currently applied. While I understand the cost limit threshold, no advice or assistance was offered under Section 16 of the Act to help refine or reduce the scope of the request. I would therefore ask the Council to reconsider whether a refined request could be fulfilled—such as:

• Limiting the request to the most recent 12-month period
• Excluding invoice numbers, business addresses and contact emails
• Focusing on high-value or 30+ day late payments only

Internal Review Response:

I have now had the opportunity to review the matter and liaise with the department to see if we can provide some information to assist you. 

Please find attached a spreadsheet containing the data for the last 12 months (2024/25). 

In respect of a Council policy or procedure regarding payment terms for suppliers, contractors or sub-contractors, please see Policy statement on purchase order and invoice payment attached.  This was not included with the original response as it does not  specifically refer to payment terms and practices, but it does demonstrate that we have some internal procedures in place.