Invoice payment policy: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


FOI reference: FOI/17/02493
Date received: 19 October 2017
Date responded: 17 November 2017

Information requested

You asked about: Details of any payments in 2016 and 2017 from the Scottish Government to businesses where the payments are/were more than 90 days late. Information should include the number of such incidences, the businesses involved, how much they are/were owed, and how many days late the payments are/were.

Response

The Scottish Government's prompt payment policy requires that all suppliers' invoices not in dispute are paid within the terms of the relevant contract. The Scottish Government aims to pay 100% of invoices, including disputed invoices once the dispute has been settled, on time in these terms.

As part of its plan for supporting economic recovery in Scotland, the then First Minister announced on 9 October 2008 that the Scottish Government would aspire to a 10 working day target for paying bills to businesses in Scotland. This aspiration is above and beyond our contractual commitment to pay suppliers within 30 days. Paying supplier bills within ten working days is seen as a key objective, and an important expression of the Scottish Government's commitment to supporting business.

The percentage of invoices paid in 10 working days by the Scottish Government during its financial year 2016-17 was 99%. The number of invoices paid, including those paid by electronic procurement card was approximately 74,000.

However very occasionally the objective to pay all invoices on time is not achieved. From 1 January to 31 December 2016 the Scottish Government made 3 payments to businesses that were more than 90 days late. Details are contained within the table below:

Supplier Amount Paid Days late
Varidesk Netherlands B.V. £279 120
Misco UK Limited £48 115
Sodexo Limited £885 115

The Misco UK Ltd invoice was the subject of a dispute but incorrectly was not marked as such, the other two invoices were delayed due to administrative errors.

From 1 January to 20 October 2017 the Scottish Government has made 3 payments to businesses that were more than 90 days late. Details are contained within the table below:

Supplier Amount Paid Days late
Vodafone Limited (Corporate) £8,244 411
Capital Solutions £30 354
Independent Vetcare Group t/a Strathspey Veterinary Centre £1,334 122

The Vodafone Ltd invoice was the subject of a dispute but incorrectly was not marked as such, the other two invoices were delayed due to administrative errors.

The Scottish Government regrets any delays in payments to suppliers and our performance in paying 99% of transactions within 10 working underlines this commitment. We are continuing to strive to improve this performance.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference

Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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