Council Expenditure or Payment to Suppliers from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019
Dear North Lanarkshire Council,
I'd like to make a request under the Freedom of Information act for all transactions over £500 from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019. Please provide the data in a machine readable format (preferably CSV). As a minimum, please make sure to include the date, value, recipient and the procurement category of each transaction.
For avoidance of doubt, I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act. I await your response within 20 working days.
Yours faithfully,
Nikhil Prabhu
Dear Sir / Madam
I acknowledge receipt of your email which is receiving attention.
I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.
Yours sincerely
Neil McKay
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Democratic and Legal Services
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1 AB
Tel : 01698 302 484
Dear
Sir/Madam,
Request for Information
I refer again to your e‑mail of 2 August 2019 seeking information in
relation to Council spending over £500.00.
Having investigated, I regret to advise that the information you seek is
not held in a format that renders it readily available and to provide all
of the information sought it would exceed the amount prescribed for the
purposes of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I am sorry, I cannot be of more assistance on this occasion. That said,
if you could narrow the parameters of your request, such as specifying
areas of spend you are most interested in, then we may be able to provide
some information.
I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Section 21 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002, has established a procedure whereby any person who has requested
information and is in any way dissatisfied with the decision on that
request, can within forty working days require a review of that decision
by writing to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre,
Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB. Accordingly, if you are
dissatisfied with this decision and seek such review please write to the
Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.
I would advise, also, that in terms of Section 47 of the Act a person who
is dissatisfied with a notice given by the local authority under Section
21 of the Act - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Act. Such an application must be made within
six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another form
which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being used for
subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the
applicant, and provide an address for correspondence. The application must
also specify the request for information to which the requirement for
review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s
dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the
matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the
decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local
authority to issue such a decision. The Scottish Information Commissioner
can be contacted as follows:-
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St. Andrews
KY16 9DS
email: [1][email address]
Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -
[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose. If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.
Yours faithfully
Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Dear Ms.Kirkpatrick Angelene,
I would like to appeal against the Council’s decision to refuse information as they feel the cost would exceed the appropriate limit of £600.
All councils now have a sophisticated accounting system which enables information to be downloaded using the in-built software. This software should have filters to enable data without compromising any sensitive information. As an accountant myself I use this facility extensively.
We feel the cost in downloading and assessing the data should not exceed the appropriate limit of 18 hours work or £600; as much of the work would be done by the machine itself. We therefore would like to appeal against the council’s refusal to provide information as they feel the cost will exceed the threshold.
In particular I am looking for itemized transactions for all suppliers who provide a service in Health and Social Care, from 1st January 2019 - 30th June 2019, preferably in a CSV format. This would include all suppliers falling under the following categories :-
1. Payments to suppliers who provide fostering and adoption services to the Council
2. Payments to suppliers who provide care services to the council. This would include suppliers who provide care under each of the categories below :-
a. Children's Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
b. Adult Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
c. Elderly Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
d. Domiciliary Care Home Providers
e. Supported Living Care Home Providers
f. Care at Home Providers
g. Providers who carry out Homeless Services
3. Payments to suppliers who provide Special Education Services
To narrow my scope -- We are looking for payments to suppliers who provide a service in Health and Social Care ONLY.
I sincerely hope the Council may now accommodate my request.
Thank you very much & kind Regards,
Yours faithfully,
Nikhil Prabhu
Dear Mr Prabhu
I acknowledge receipt of your email which is receiving attention.
I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.
Yours sincerely
Jacqueline Keachie
for Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
01698 302232
________________________________________
From: nikhil prabhu
Sent: 30 August 2019 06:41:04 (UTC+00:00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
To: Kirkpatrick Angelene
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Council Expenditure or Payment to Suppliers from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019
Dear Ms.Kirkpatrick Angelene,
I would like to appeal against the Council’s decision to refuse information as they feel the cost would exceed the appropriate limit of £600.
All councils now have a sophisticated accounting system which enables information to be downloaded using the in-built software. This software should have filters to enable data without compromising any sensitive information. As an accountant myself I use this facility extensively.
We feel the cost in downloading and assessing the data should not exceed the appropriate limit of 18 hours work or £600; as much of the work would be done by the machine itself. We therefore would like to appeal against the council’s refusal to provide information as they feel the cost will exceed the threshold.
In particular I am looking for itemized transactions for all suppliers who provide a service in Health and Social Care, from 1st January 2019 - 30th June 2019, preferably in a CSV format. This would include all suppliers falling under the following categories :-
1. Payments to suppliers who provide fostering and adoption services to the Council 2. Payments to suppliers who provide care services to the council. This would include suppliers who provide care under each of the categories below :-
a. Children's Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
b. Adult Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
c. Elderly Residential/ Nursing Care Providers
d. Domiciliary Care Home Providers
e. Supported Living Care Home Providers
f. Care at Home Providers
g. Providers who carry out Homeless Services 3. Payments to suppliers who provide Special Education Services
To narrow my scope -- We are looking for payments to suppliers who provide a service in Health and Social Care ONLY.
I sincerely hope the Council may now accommodate my request.
Thank you very much & kind Regards,
Yours faithfully,
Nikhil Prabhu
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer again to your e-mail dated 30 August 2019 seeking information in relation to transactions above £500 from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019.
Having investigated, please find attached the information requested, adjusted to exclude anything which constitutes personal data in respect of which disclosure would contravene the Data Protection principles and that this constitutes a ground of absolute exemption in terms of Section 38 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The details edited from the document which is effectively being released into the public domain for all to access are names of individuals.
I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the provisions of Section 21 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, has established a procedure whereby any person who has requested information and is in any way dissatisfied with the decision on that request, can within forty working days require a review of that decision by writing to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB. Accordingly, if you are dissatisfied with this decision and seek such review please write to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.
I would advise, also, that in terms of Section 47 of the Act a person who is dissatisfied with a notice given by the local authority under Section 21 of the Act - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice - may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt with in accordance with the Act. Such an application must be made within six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another form which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being used for subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the applicant, and provide an address for correspondence. The application must also specify the request for information to which the requirement for review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local authority to issue such a decision. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted as follows:-
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St. Andrews
KY16 9DS
email: [email address]
Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online via the following link: -
www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose. If, however, you require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please let me know.
Yours faithfully
Jacqueline Keachie
for Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
01698 302232
Dear Ms. Keachie Jacqueline,
Thank you so much for your e-mail and data.
On examining the file provided, we noticed that Fostering type transactions (such as payments to IFA's) seem to be missing from the spreadsheet. May we please request you to re-send the file with that information included?
With Regards,
Yours sincerely,
nikhil prabhu
Dear Sir/Madam
Please find attached additional information identified.
Regards.
Jacqueline Keachie
I am currently out of the office. All e-mails will be forwarded to a
member of the Freedom of Information Team, who can be contacted on 01698
302 232.
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Mathieson left an annotation ()
It should be acknowledged that this Council have unfortunately a history of erroneous practices with the use of the public purse and will be reticent to expose its self to further criticsm.
Good Luck