As a large public sector organisation, we are committed to openness and accountability. The Freedom of Information Act encourages public authorities to make as much information as possible to the public proactively.
Under the Act, we are required to adopt a publication scheme which contains information we routinely make available, and ensure that information is published in accordance with the scheme. The Information Commissioner’s Office introduced a Model Publication Scheme which we have adopted.
Publication schemes explain what information is routinely made available to you, where and when that information is available and whether there will be a charge for the information. We make a significant amount of information available under our scheme. One of its benefits is that it makes information easily accessible and without charge. This means that, in many cases, the information you are looking for will already be available and there will be no need for you to make a formal request under the Act.
What information is available?
Available information is grouped under eight classes of information:
- Who we are and what we do
- What we spend and how we spend it
- What are our priorities and how are we performing (Trust board papers)
- How we make decisions
- Our policies and procedures
- Lists and registers
- Contracts and tenders
- Services we offer
Freedom of Information requests
You may want information that isn’t published anywhere on our website. In this situation, you can make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Generally we will send you a response within 20 working days. Where this is not possible we will keep you informed about progress with your request.
For more information about making an FOI request and our obligations under the FOI Act, see our Freedom of Information Leaflet.
Alternatively, you can send a written FOI request to:
Data Privacy Officer – FOI
Data Privacy Team
Room 500
Rutland Building
County Hall
Glenfield
LE3 8RA
or e- mail: lpt.foi@nhs.net
You can also view our FOI disclosure logs
Fees
The FOI Act and the associated Fees Regulations state that we cannot charge a fee for information unless: there is a statutory basis for doing so, or the amount of time taken to locate the information exceeds 18 hours. However, we are allowed to charge for disbursements (ie, costs) that we incur by providing information, and re-formatting it where necessary. Under the regulations, we must tell you that we are applying a fee. As part of our commitment to openness and transparency, we try to keep any fees to a minimum.
Your feedback
If you are unhappy about how we have responded to you, you can:
- ask for an internal review by writing to Head of Data Privacy at the above address
- write to:
The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF - visit their website: Information Commissioner
- or call 01625 545 745.
We welcome your comments about FOI requests. Send them to the Trust’s Head of Data Privacy at the address provided above.