Peterborough council to chase up debts as local NHS body owes £1.4m

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group owes £1.4 million to the council having reduced its debt to the authority from almost £16 million.

A council report has revealed that the top 20 debts it was owed by the end of March totalled £1.9 million, of which the vast majority was from the CCG which is responsible for planning NHS services in hospitals and the community.

Both public bodies have been under huge financial pressure in recent years, with the CCG forced to cut services such as IVF to manage its debts.

However, it was served with £1.6 million in credit notes by the council after financial records showed “some discrepancies and errors were found”.

Credit notes can be issued when an invoice needs to be changed.

A council spokesperson said: “The council has been and will continue working closely with senior officers at the CCG to resolve debt balances outstanding to the council. These had reached almost £16 million during 2019/20, but there has been engagement and a number of large payments made by the CCG to reduce this debt.

“On review of the financial records held by both parties some discrepancies and errors were found, and as a result the council has raised credit notes to correct these.

“Work is still ongoing with the CCG at a strategic and operational level to ensure the risk in relation to this debt it closely monitored and managed.”

The council report states: “The top 20 debts owed to the council at March 31, 2020, and which were more than 30 days old, totalled £1.9 million of which £1.4 million were for the NHS/CCG.”

Asked for an explanation on what the debt related to, the spokesperson replied: “The council’s top 20 debtors at year end includes a number of invoices from our key partners which were raised within the last week of the year. This includes Serco, Cambridgeshire County Council, Viridor and a number of academies.

“The council will be pursuing these debts as normal course of business, however, we are mindful that the current operating environment in light of Covid-19 means these matters are more sensitive and we will be ensuring this is taken into consideration.”

A CCG spokesperson said: “The CCG continues to work closely with Peterborough City Council to resolve any outstanding financial debts between our organisations and ensure these are managed and processed accordingly.”

No further information on what the debt was for has been given.