The Freedom of Information Act, gives the general right of access to all types of recorded information held by the Practice. The intention of the Act is to encourage a spirit of openness and transparency in the NHS and the whole public sector. Our organisation aims to fully support this.

The public have had full access rights from January 2005. This means that more information will be routinely and freely made available. This is subject to some exemptions, which are outlined below.

Any individual or organisation can make a request for information. The applicant does not have to explain why this information is requested. The Act gives the right to:

The Publication Scheme

This Practice has developed a publication scheme. It is a guide to information, routinely published and gives indication of information intended to be published. The publication scheme describes the form in which the information is published and any fees that will be charged. A request can be made from information listed in this publication scheme.

The publication scheme can be accessed via the Practice Manager.

The main headings in the scheme are listed below:

Who we are

Our services

Financial and funding information

Regular publications and information for the public

Complaints

General Policies and Procedures that may include:-

This publication scheme

Cost of information

Useful Resources

Responding to requests

All requests for information must be responded to within 20 working days. A fee can be charged when dealing with a request. This will be calculated in accordance with the Act. If a fee is required for information requested, the 20 day timescale can be extended by up to three months.

The Secretary of State has set limits to charges, should the request for information exceed these charges, the Practice does not have to action the request. There maybe a charge for information not covered by the Act or for large amounts of information that might not otherwise be disclosed due to the cost.

The Practice is not obliged to comply with vexatious requests or repeated or substantially similar requests from the same person other than at reasonable intervals.

Exemptions

There is a range of exemptions covering personal data, security, formulation of government policy, commercial and individual confidentiality. A further absolute exemption is where information is accessible by other means or if the information has been provided in confidence. Other exemptions include information relating to commercial interests and audit functions.

Requests for information

Requests for information must be in writing (requests by email and fax are acceptable) and must include the name and address for the correspondence and a clear description of the information requested.

Requests for information should be made to:

The Information Commissioner

The information Commissioner is an independent public body that reports directly to Parliament. The Information Commissioner is responsible for implementing the Act.

Further information about the Information Commissioner is available here.

Another informative Freedom Of Information Act website can be found here.