NHS 24 have considered your request and concluded that it does not hold all the information requested but has appended to this letter, the information which it holds. 

We calculate the invoices paid later than 30 days from the received date not the invoice date as we frequently receive invoices much later than the invoice date.

NHS 24 endeavours to provide information whenever possible. On this occasion, we do not hold all this information therefore your request is subject to section 17(1) of FOISA.

FOISA gives you the right to recorded information held by Scottish public authorities, subject to the exemptions listed in the legislation. FOISA does not impose a duty on Scottish Public Authorities to create new information, only to provide the information which is routinely recorded and held. 

We are unable to provide the detail of invoices over 30 days from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022 as we had a different payment processing system until 1 April 2022. The information within the appendix details the information from then.

Section 33(1)(b) of FOISA provides that information is exempt information if its disclosure under FOISA would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person. NHS 24 is relying on this exemption as we consider that our commercial interests would, or would be likely to, be harmed by disclosure.

As a number of suppliers are currently going through tender processes (or are in the near future) and as such the spends are commercially sensitive. For these suppliers we have removed the figures however we have shown how many invoices there were.

We believe that disclosure of the information requested would be likely to impact our ability to secure best value in the procurement of this contract in the future, as potential suppliers would gain a strong indication of the level of bid that might secure contracts of similar nature and scale, resulting in bidders submitting less competitive bids in future.

Whilst NHS 24 acknowledges the general public interest in openness and transparency, we are of the view that, on this occasion, the public interest favours application of the section 33(1)(b) exemption.

In considering the public interest in favour of disclosure, NHS 24 recognises the general public interest in disclosing information held by Scottish public authorities. However, having considered all the circumstances of this case, we are of the view that the public interest in openness and transparency is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption and avoiding substantial prejudice to NHS 24’s commercial interests.

The Section 33(1) exemption is a qualified exemption, so NHS 24 is required to consider the following tests in relation to that exemption:

• The Public Interest test
• The Harm test

The Public Interest Test

This test is not defined within the Act, but it is generally accepted to be ‘something which is of serious concern and benefit to the public’. NHS 24 consider that there is nothing within the withheld information which would further benefit the public interest and that, in fact, withholding this information is in the public interest to ensure that NHS 24 can provide health care services to the people of Scotland.

The Harm Test

This is generally accepted to be where disclosure would prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person (including, without prejudice to that generality, a Scottish Public Authority). NHS 24 considers that to provide commercial information of the type and detail requested would prejudice substantially the ability of NHS 24 to ensure good value to the public in the use of public funds. Providing cost and budget information may compromise the ability of NHS 24, when entering into a commercial agreement, to ensure that the value of the agreement is to the benefit of NHS 24 and the Scottish public.

NHS 24 have also considered that a small amount of the requested information is “personal information” of one or more third parties, and we are therefore withholding this by relying upon section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). The exemption in section 38(1)(b) regulates the relationship between FOISA, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

There are 2 suppliers where the suppliers’ names are the individuals’ names so these have been removed because disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

More Information on our Payment Policy can also be found on page 31 of the NHS 24 2024/25 Annual Accounts available from the publications section of our website. For convenience this is also stated below:

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting business in the current economic situation by paying bills more quickly.

The intention is to achieve payment of all undisputed invoices within 10 working days, across all public bodies.

• In 2024/25, NHS 24’s average credit taken was 14 days (2023/24 – 17 days)
• In 2024/25, NHS 24 paid 89.0% of invoices by value (2023/24 – 80.0%) and 71.7% by volume (2023/24 – 60.3%) within 10 days
• In 2024/25, NHS 24 paid 98.2% of invoices by value (2023/24 – 96.5%) and 91.4% by volume (2023/24 – 88.0%) within 30 days

The above figures relate only to non-NHS suppliers.