Paper BSO 21/2018: February 2018 Prompt Payment Report

The request was partially successful.

Dear Business Services Organisation (Northern Ireland),

The Prompt Payment Summary stated
"FY17-18 Regional Scorecard (Average across all HSCNI Organisations)
Post FPL upgrade, there are many more invoices on the register due to system issues on FPM workbenches. Post resolution of the system issue, and as we approach year end;
many managers are addressing their backlog of overdue invoices which have been authorised during the reporting period. This has negatively impacted on the Prompt Payment Report"

Please confirm details of the quantum of the invoice backlogs on the Register for both HSC Trusts and other HSC Bodies referred to in the February 2018 Report broken down by both numbers and value of outstanding invoices?

On a separate point the 30 Day Prompt Payment Report tabled at Board meetings going back to at least May 2017 refer to the percentages of Invoices Paid in 30 working days. If this reference to "working days"is not an error please provide a copy of Departmental Guidance which instructed the change from the original basis of reporting figures as a percentage of Invoices Paid in 30 calendar days.

Please acknowledge this communication is being treated as a Freedom of Information request

Yours faithfully,

Jayne Girvan

FOI BSO, Business Services Organisation (Northern Ireland)

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Dear Ms Girvan,

Please find attached a formal acknowledgement of your recent Freedom of Information request.

Regards

BSO Corporate Services

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Dear FOI BSO,

By my reckoning my request has now been with your organisation for more than 20 working days and as a result HSC Business Services Organisation by failing to respond to my Freedom of Information has breached the obligations imposed by statute.

Such a breach gives me 2 options namely to request an internal review or appeal directly to the Information Commissioner. Before deciding I think it is fair and reasonable to give your Organisation one short period of grace to produce its responses.

I now look forward to hearing from you within the next few days.

Yours sincerely,

Jayne Girvan

FOI BSO, Business Services Organisation (Northern Ireland)

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Dear Ms Girvan

My apologies for the delay. Please be advised that this request is with the relevant director for signature, and should be with you shortly.

Kind regards,
BSO Corporate Services

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FOI BSO, Business Services Organisation (Northern Ireland)

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Dear Ms Girvan

Please find, attached, a response to your request for information.

Kind regards,
BSO Corporate Services

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Dear FOI BSO,

I have your responses of 17 May 2018 to my Freedom of Information request.

Your response to my request comes over as a somewhat "clumsy" attempt to avoid disclosure of the information requested and all the more so when considered against responses made to requests submitted through this website by a Gavin Knox. The responses I am referring to were issued to Gavin Knox under references FoI 458 and FoI 470.

Please now review/reconsider your response letter of 17 May and provide the information originally requested.

Yours sincerely,

Jayne Girvan

Dear FOI BSO,

Over 40 working days have now elapsed since I requested an internal review of the initial responses to my information request.

Guidance issued by the Information Commissioner indicates a review should be carried out promptly and should normally be completed within 20 working days and only in exceptional circumstances should that period extend to 40 working days.

Since my request is neither complex or exceptional I have to assume the Business Services Organisation has some other reason for its failure to respond to my request for an internal review.

To avoid a referral to the Information Commissioner's Office I suggest steps are now taken to issue a final response.

Yours sincerely,

Jayne Girvan

FOI BSO, Business Services Organisation (Northern Ireland)

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Dear Ms Girvan,

It appears from our records that the attached response to your review was created but not forwarded to yourself.

Please accept my apologies for the oversight.

Regards

BSO Corporate Services

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