- Provide information to you about our organisation through a publication scheme
- Provide a guide to this information
- Respond appropriately to requests for information
How to make an FOI request
Before making a request, look at our FOI publication scheme to see if the information is already there.
If you can’t find the information you want, you can make a request. Please note FOI requests must be in writing, as we cannot accept telephone requests. Remember to include your contact details and describe the information that you require in as much detail as you can.
Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests - Coronavirus notice
To help us respond to the coronavirus and ensure our staff are supported to work remotely in line with government guidelines, we are no longer able to accept freedom of information via post until further notice.
We are requesting that all FOI requests are submitted via email: southseftonccg.foi@nhs.net
Or using the online form - Fill out the form below and press the submit button.
Subject Access Requests
We are requesting that all subject access requests are submitted via email: mlcsusars@nhs.net
Please note that there may be a delay in acknowledging and responding to any freedom of information or subject access requests that have been sent via post in recent days or weeks.
We will endeavour to respond within timescales where possible. Thank you for your patience.
FOI publication scheme
See what information we already publish. You might find what you are looking for here.
How we will deal with your request
We will send you written acknowledgement of your request by email or post within 2 working days.
You will be given a unique reference number that you should use in any correspondence concerning your request.
- We will let you know if we do not hold the information requested as soon as we can
- We may need to contact you to ask you to clarify what information you are requesting if it is not clear enough
- We will try to provide you with the information that you have requested within 20 working days
- Occasionally, it may take longer than this because we need to consider if the information you are asking for is exempt from disclosure
- If some or all of the information that you have requested is exempt from disclosure we will let you know why it is not available, with a reference to the relevant sections of the Act
Our FOI policy
Read our policy for handling FOI requests. Section 46 of the FOI Code of Practice details what recorded information we have a duty to provide when we receive a request. We will always try to provide the details that you ask for but sometimes this will not be possible because the Act says the information is ‘exempt’.
When and why we need to charge for FOIs
Most of the information we provide is free. However, if we need to make a charge we will notify you as soon as possible and issue you with a fee note and how to pay if you want to go ahead.
We will charge a fee when the information you are requesting takes longer to gather than the ‘appropriate limit’. There may be ways to get the information you need without incurring a cost by changing your initial request and we will help you to try and do that.
The appropriate limit is set out in the FOI Fee Regulations as being £450 for an NHS body. This means that we have to consider if it would take staff more than 18 hours to:
- Determine
- Locate
- Retrieve and extract the information
A CCG can also make an appropriate charge for:
- Photocopying
- Putting into a different format for instance where requested to transfer to CD
- Providing a reasonable opportunity to inspect the information
- Postage and packaging
How to make an FOI complaint
If you would like to make a complaint regarding our Publication Scheme or any aspect of the way that we have dealt with your request – such as our decision to apply an exemption to some or all of the information that you have requested – please email southseftonccg.foi@nhs.net
If you are still not happy following a formal internal review you have the right to ask for a review by the Information Commissioner. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office at the following address:
Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints/getting
Confidentiality
The Freedom of Information Act does not change your rights and the rights of our staff to confidentiality. Maintaining your legal right to confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part.
To help with this, we have appointed someone who is called a Caldicott Guardian, and who has responsibility to ensure the protection of service user confidentiality.
Our Caldicott Guardian is Chrissie Cooke, Chief Nurse Chrissie.Cooke@southseftonccg.nhs.uk. You can find out more about the role of the Caldicott Guardian on the Department of Health website.
