Making an FOI or EIR request

Our staff can advise and assist you in your request for information. If we cannot find the information you requested, we will offer you advice and assistance to help you clarify or redefine your request.

The more detail you can provide in your request, the quicker and easier it will be for us to try to identify, prepare and send it to you.

For instance it would be useful if you could tell us:

• if the information you want is likely to be found in a specific document
• if you know of any references or document titles associated with the information
• if the information you want is available or listed in our publication scheme or on our website – if so the name of the document or web address would be useful
• if it has been previously supplied to you as this will help us to locate the information once more.

Unfortunately we cannot always supply the information in the format requested. If this is the case we will try to suggest alternative ways of providing you with the information.

If we discover that the information is freely available elsewhere, for example in our publication scheme website, or through a third party, we will inform you of this fact and guide you to where you can find it.

Our CCG will always try to provide the information you want but we may refuse your request for information (either party or wholly) for a number of reasons:

• we may refuse your request if the information is covered by an exemption specified in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or an exception contained within the Environmental Information Regulations 2000, including but not limited to the protection of personal data as laid down by the Data Protection Act 1998.
• your request may be refused after careful consideration if it would be against public interest to disclose the information.
• we may refuse your request if it would take longer than 18 hours to find, which is the cost limit defined in section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• we may also reject your request if the request is for information we have recently given you and the information has not changed, or if the request appears to be designed to cause inconvenience with no visible benefits, as defined in section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• certain requests for information may be answered by providing redacted, summarised or extracted information. Redacted information is where specific sentences have been blacked out or removed from a document because the information is exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (or exceptions under the Environmental Information Regulations 2000) or in order to protect personal data as required under the Data Protection Act 1998.

If we refuse part (or all) of your request, or supply you with a redacted, summarised or extracted document (unless you requested a summary or extract), we will send you an explanation of why we have done this. We have a duty to let you know if we have the information, subject to certain exemptions specified in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We will also send you details of our internal review procedure and how to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in case you feel our decision was unfounded.

If we do not hold the information we will let you know and try to recommend alternative sources for that information.

Further information about how to access information from a public body can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website (opens in a new window).

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives everyone a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public bodies. There are no restrictions on age or nationality and you do not have to live within the geographical area of our CCG. The Act places an obligation on public bodies to disclose information. The Act also sets out a series of exemptions and limitations on the public’s right of access and on our obligations to you.

One of the obligations placed upon public bodies is to produce and maintain a publication scheme.

You can find further information on the Freedom of Information Act on the government legislation website (opens in a new window).

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) give the public a similar right of access to environmental information as the FOIA, along with a similar series of exceptions to that right. These regulations apply to all public authorities which are subject to the FOIA.

The principle behind the law is that giving the public access to environmental information will encourage greater awareness of issues that affect the environment.

The EIR are similar to the FOIA but are limited specifically to information regarding the environment. The EIR grant a right for any person to request access to environmental information held by public authorities and for public authorities to take steps to proactively make environmental information available to the public.

You can find further information on the Environmental Information Regulations on the government legislation website (opens in a new window).

You do not need to worry about the differences between the FOIA and EIR, when we receive your request for information we will ensure we follow the appropriate legislation.

You can make an FOI or EIR request by email / post or fax. FOI requests have to be in a written format, however EIR requests can be made verbally.

You can contact the Freedom of Information team by email, post or phone:

• email: Brdccg.bradfordcravenfoi@nhs.net
• post: Freedom of Information team, NHS Bradford District and Craven CCG, Scorex House, Bradford, BD1 4AS
• telephone: 01274 256089

Your request for information under the FOIA or EIR should:

• be in writing,
• state the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and
• describe the information requested.

By providing these details in your request, our team can contact you if we need to clarify your request and provide you with a response.

You are allowed under EIR to make a request for information verbally. Although it will help us if you send your request in writing in the same way as if you were making an FOI request. If you do not, we may send you a transcript of your request in order to check its accuracy.

When making a FOI or EIR request, please be specific, it will help us to locate the information you need more easily. Please also give as much detail as possible (e.g. document name, reference or date range). This helps us narrow down our search and helps us to provide you with the information you want quicker. We ask that you do not mix a request for information with a complaint or a comment about the services you have received.

If you do require further advice or assistance and are unsure of any aspect of making a request, our Freedom of Information team can help.

You can contact us using the details above.

If you wish to raise a concern, complaint, make a comment or give a compliment, please contact our patient support line.

Most of our information is stored electronically and any information you request can easily and quickly be sent to you via email. This is quicker, less costly and usually the most convenient for you. We are happy to provide information required in a different format if possible. If you do need the information in a different format, please inform the Freedom of Information team using the contact details below or provide the details within your request.

• email: Brdccg.bradfordcravenfoi@nhs.net
• post: Freedom of Information team, NHS Bradford District and Craven CCG, Scorex House, Bradford, BD1 4AS
• telephone: 01274 256089

You can obtain the information as a paper copy, CD/DVD, and any other format. We will do our best to meet your request. Please note that we may have to levy a change for posting large amounts of paper or creating a CD/DVD. Without payment we are not obliged to supply you with the information in that particular format and your request could be closed if you prefer not to pay and do not select another format.

If you request a particular dataset in electronic form – and we have such a dataset and we are the sole owner of its copyright – where reasonably practicable we will provide you with it.

This is subject to the exemptions and exceptions from disclosure including the protection of personal data of individuals as laid down in the FOIA, the EIR and the Data Protection Act respectively. We will also provide the dataset in a re-useable form along with an Open Government Licence for those datasets in which we own the copyright.

We will log your request and handle as per the guidance issued under the FOIA and EIR requirements; if we do need to clarify your request, we will forward a clarification letter to ensure we can appropriately manage your request(s).

The FOIA and EIR require us to respond within the 20 working days limit from the date of receipt, we will endeavour to complete the responses promptly. For large or complex EIR requests this can be extended to 40 working days. If this is the case, we will inform you within 20 working days.

All requests for information will be logged and recorded on our database.

Acknowledgement

We will send you an acknowledgement letter to confirm that we have received your request. The acknowledgement will also give you a reference number and identify whether your request falls under the FOIA or EIR.

Process

We will start to identify and collate the information you have requested. If we cannot determine the information you require, or your request is too broad, we may contact you to clarify or re-define your request. We will be happy to release as much information as possible without charging a fee. While we await clarification from you, the 20 day clock will be stopped and only re-start on receipt of your clarification. If we do request a clarification and we do not receive it within a certain period of time (usually 20 working days) we will regard your request as closed.
If your request involves information related to another person or company, then we may need to consult this person or company before deciding on whether to disclose or withhold the information you have requested.

Response

Our final response must say whether we hold the information or not. If we hold the information, the response will communicate the information you have requested (unless one or more FOIA exemptions or EIR exceptions apply to either of these obligations).

If you request information which is routinely available, for efficiency, we may send the information without regarding your request as a formal request.

Further information on how requests are handled for organisations can be found in the request handling section of the Information Commissioner’s Office website (opens in a new window).

We aim to make as much information as possible free of charge. This will be the case for any information we make available to download from our publication scheme. However, if you request information in a certain format such as printed or photocopied papers, CD/DVD (and the costs of preparing and posting in one of these formats exceed £50) we will contact you to request payment of the costs associated with your chosen format. We will also offer to send the information electronically at no cost. In these cases, our charges will be subject to a charging regime laid down by Parliament. These charges are shown in our guide to charges and schedule of fees, you can find this information on the lists and registers page of our publication scheme.

There may be times when we have to inform you that we cannot identify, locate, retrieve or extract large volumes of information you have requested in a written request without making a charge. This charge is for the time this will take over and above an appropriate limit for our public authority which is defined by the FOIA. This is currently set at £450 for our type of authority (which amounts to 18 hours work). In such cases we will also contact you and ask you to either narrow your request or pay a charge for the work involved in fulfilling the original request.

When we contact you for payment, the 20 day clock will be stopped until we receive your payment, or you advise us to amend the request so it falls under the appropriate limit. If we send you a fee notice and we do not hear from you or receive payment within a month, we will regard your request as closed.

The following circumstances outline where we can refuse a request for information.

Please note: the newly formed CCG retains and holds information as required following the transfer of services and the retention periods set out in the Records Management: Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016 which can be found on the NHS Digital website (opens in a new window).

If we do not hold the information requested we cannot provide it

If we do not hold the information you have requested we cannot provide it. Following the reorganisation of the NHS in April 2013, many responsibilities of the former primary care trusts (PCTs) were transferred to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). However there may be cases where the responsibility for a particular function has not been transferred to us and consequently we will not hold the related information. In such cases we will try to assist you in locating the information you have requested and suggest who you should contact. There may be other times when we do not know where this information is held and are unable to help.

Exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations Exceptions

There are circumstances laid down in the FOIA and EIR where we may contact you to refuse your request. We may refuse all or part of your request if the information is covered by an exemption specified in the FOIA or an exception specified in the EIR, including, but not limited to, the protection of personal and sensitive data as laid down by the Data Protection Act 1998. You can find further information about the protection of personal and sensitive data in the Data Protection Act 1998 available on the Information Commissioners Office website (opens in a new window).

Where we have to withhold some of your request we will either provide you with a summary or a copy of the information in a redacted form (redaction is where the withheld information has either been black-lined out or removed entirely).

We are able to refuse a FOIA request for information if the information is readily available via our publication scheme or on our website. We ask that you check our website and publication scheme before making a written request.

Some of these exemptions and exceptions may require us to conduct a public interest test. This is where we must decide honestly if the public interest lies in disclosing or withholding the information. As we may require additional time to consult affected third parties and carefully decide the public interest, we may notify you that we need a reasonable period of extra time beyond the 20 working day limit to conduct this test. The FOIA stipulates that in no case should this be longer than an additional 20 working days.

If we decide to use a FOIA exemption or EIR exception, we will let you know which exemption or exception has been used and why it applies.
If we are required to conduct a public interest test we will provide the details as to the outcome. If the decision is taken to withhold information we will inform you the reason why it is greater than disclosing it.

Repeated or vexatious requests

We are not obliged to comply with vexatious or repeated requests for the same information which has not changed since the last time you requested it. Vexatious requests are defined as requests intended to be annoying, disruptive or which have a disproportionate impact on our work.

Further information

There is further information available here on the Information Commissioner’s Office website which explains when we can refuse a request.

If you are unhappy with our response to a FOIA or EIR request or the service you have received and you wish to make a complaint or request an internal review of any decision to withhold all or part of any information you have requested, please write to the following address, quoting the reference number of the request and specific details of your complaint along with any supporting information:

• email: brdccg.bradfordcravenfoi@nhs.net
• post: Freedom of Information team, Scorex House (West), 1, Bolton Road, Bradford BD1 4AS

Your complaint will be handled formally by a senior member of management not originally involved with your FOIA or EIR request. The process will give a fresh review of all aspects of the case as necessary.

We will then inform you of the outcome in writing. If the original decision is reversed we will then handle your request.

If you are not content with the outcome of our internal review of a FOIA or EIR request, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Both the FOIA and the EIR are regulated and enforced by the ICO.

Please note that the ICO will not investigate your case unless it has been through our internal review procedure first.

Further information about how to make a complaint to the ICO can be found on their website (opens in a new window). You can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office by post: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF