PLC Public Sector reports:
Wherever you look there are people giving advice to local authorities about how to help their local communities and the businesses within them cope with the ongoing recession. While many suggestions may seem worthy, they are often superficial and unlikely to get real help to where it is needed. In fact, the simplest idea is often the most effective. Making sure that bills are paid on time is a simple concept that introduces money into the local economy and will ease cash flow pressures on local businesses.
This week, the Forum of Private Business noted that central government figures indicate that it is – in most cases – living up to its commitment to pay invoices within 10 working days. However, the Forum cast doubt on whether local authorities and PCTs were meeting the same standards. As a result, it has undertaken a fact-finding mission submitting a FOIA request to every local authority and PCT in Great Britain.
Two key points to note come out of the Forum’s campaign:
Firstly, the Forum is quite right; local authorities and PCTs must pay their bills as quickly as possible as this is likely to be the most effective way of helping their local communities. The Forum has correctly identified that it is often local authorities and PCTs rather than central government that contract with small business in their local areas and cash flow for these businesses is vital, particularly given the lending freezes imposed by Banks.
Secondly, it would be ill-advised for a local authority or PCT to try to avoid answering a FOIA request made as part of this campaign. None of the exemptions are likely to apply to the type of statistical data requested. The only possible reasons for not complying would be that the request:
- is vexatious (the ICO has accepted previously that requests to other authorities can be taken into account in finding that a request is vexatious); or
- would take too long to answer.
However, neither of these reasons are likely to be successful.
In addition, not answering would be seen as an admission that the relevant authority was not paying invoices promptly (and would probably be worse than disclosing slightly unflattering statistics). The best solution would be for authorities to publish this information as a matter of course on their websites. By doing this, the authority would control the way the information is presented, including any reasons for any payment delays, and could simply re-direct the Forum to its website for an answer to its questions.