NHS Trust Upheld for Late Supplier Payment FOIA Breach
Summary
The Information Commissioner's Office issued a decision notice finding that The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust breached section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by failing to respond to an information request within 20 working days. The complaint concerned the Trust's failure to pay suppliers on time and related late payment compensation. The ICO ordered the public authority to provide a substantive response to the original request.
What changed
The ICO determined that the NHS Trust failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request within the statutory 20 working day timeframe, constituting a breach of section 10 of FOIA. The original request sought information about the Trust's failure to pay suppliers on time, including liabilities for late payment compensation and interest on late payments.
Public authorities subject to FOIA must ensure their information request handling processes meet statutory response deadlines. The Trust is now required to provide a complete substantive response to the underlying request and implement procedures to prevent similar breaches. Non-compliance with ICO decision notices can result in further enforcement action.
What to do next
- Provide a substantive response to the information request regarding late supplier payments
- Ensure future compliance with FOIA response timeframes of 20 working days
Archived snapshot
Apr 14, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
- Date 9 April 2026
- Sector Health
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld The complainant requested information from The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust about failure to pay its suppliers on time, liabilities for late payment compensation and/or interest on late payments. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority failed to respond to the request within 20 working days and has therefore breached section 10 of FOIA. The public authority must provide a substantive response to the request in accordance with its obligations under FOIA.
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