Freedom of Information

Requests for information under Freedom of Information (FOI) or the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives the public a general right of access to almost all types of recorded information held by the Trust.  Similarly, the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) provide public access to the recorded information we hold related to the environment. The FOIA and EIR are overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

• How to access information from a public authority | ICO

The FOIA and EIR impose two important obligations on the Trust.  The first is to make information available to the public proactively and this is achieved via our Publication Scheme.  The second is to provide recorded information we hold in response to requests, subject to a number of exemptions or exceptions allowed for under the legislation. 

About the Publication Scheme

The Trust’s Publication Scheme is a formal set of information that we are required to proactively publish as required under the FOIA.  The Information Commissioner has produced a ‘model publication scheme’ for use by public authorities which we have adopted.  The EIR requires us to proactively publish environmental information which is also provided under this scheme.

The seven classes of information published as part of the Trust’s Publication Scheme are:

1. Who we are and what we do – Organisational information, directory of clinical services, our hospitals, Trust Board.
2. What we spend and how we spend it – Annual reports and accounts, hospital redevelopment, remuneration, procurement and contracts, trade union reporting.
3. Our priorities and how we are doing – Visions and values, quality accounts, performance reporting, clinical governance, CQC reports.
4. How we make decisions – Policy proposals and decisions, Trust Board papers, patient feedback, research and development.
5. Our policies and procedures – Policies, complaints and compliments, Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), patient access and visiting.
6. Lists and registers – Lists and registers relating to the functions of the Trust.
7. The services we offer – Access to health records, bereavement office, clinical services, charities, directions and parking, Freedom of Information, patients and visitors, private healthcare, wards, volunteering, religious and spiritual needs, library and knowledge service.

Making a request

Before making an FOI or EIR request, please check our website to see if it contains the information you require. Our Publication Scheme is usually a good place to start. If you can’t find the information you need, submit a request by email to our FOI Team. Under the EIR, requests can be submitted verbally.  If you wish to submit a verbal request, please provide your name and telephone number to the FOI Office by email and one of our team will be happy to contact you.

Please be as specific as possible about the information you require as this will speed up the processing of your request

Responding to your request

Once we have received your Freedom of Information request, we’ll send you an acknowledgement email including a reference number. Please make a note of this reference number for any further correspondence. The Trust has a duty to confirm or deny whether it holds requested information, and to provide a response to FOI/EIR requests within the statutory time frame of 20 working days from the point a valid request is received.  This can be extended to 40 working days in certain circumstances.  If we are unable to provide the information requested within 20 working days, we will advise why and provide a date when we expect we will be able to respond.

Duty to provide advice and assistance

The Trust has a duty under both the FOIA and EIR to provide advice and assistance to applicants wishing to submit a request for information.  Where appropriate, the FOI Office will contact you in order to:

• clarify a request
• advise that the request is unreasonable in scope and seek revision
• advise the request primarily seeks exempt information and seek revision
• advise the request is vexatious or repeated
• assist with verbal requests where appropriate.

When a request is clarified or revised the statutory response period of 20 working days resets from the point the revised request or clarification has been received.  A revised request will be logged as a new request and a new reference number will be assigned.  If we do not hear back from you in two months’ time your request will be closed.

Can my request be refused?

Although the Trust recognises the importance of transparency and accountability, there are some circumstances when it is not appropriate or practicable for us to provide the recorded information we hold.  There are 23 exemptions under the FOIA and 14 exceptions under the EIR which may be applied to withhold information.  Applying exemptions/exceptions to requests is part of a legitimate response to FOI/EIR requests and it is the Trust’s duty to consider whether any apply.  If we are unable to provide information, we will explain the reasons why in our response and outline any further steps you can take.

The cost of determining whether information is held and providing it has a bearing on the Trust’s obligation to respond to a request under either FOIA or the EIR.  Where a request seeks an unreasonable amount of information that will require significant staff resources to process, the FOI Office will contact you to establish whether you wish to:

• Pay a fee for the information
• Revise and reduce the scope of the request
• Withdraw the request

Useful links

• When can we refuse a request for information? | ICO
• When can we refuse a request for environmental information? | ICO

Charges and fees

Information made available to you through our Publication Scheme will be generally provided free of charge. However, we may charge to cover the cost of photocopying, printing, and postage where multiple page hard copies are requested, or where information is to be copied onto other media (e.g. CD-ROM).

Where appropriate, in all cases where charges are applicable for information either published though the Publication Scheme or for an information request under general rights of access, a Fees Notice will be issued by the FOI Office.  We will always contact you in advance to make you aware of any charges that may be made and to check whether you still wish to continue with the request.

What if I’m not happy with my response?

If you are not satisfied with the response to your request for information because of a refusal, a failure to respond or failure to give proper advice, you can make a complaint to the Trust.  Complaints should be made within 40 working days of the initial Trust response.  Please quote your FOI reference number in any correspondence.

The Trust will have 20 working days in which to respond to your complaint.  Any review will normally be under the direction of a senior member of staff who was not involved in the original decision or process.  If you remain dissatisfied at the conclusion of any review, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner via their website or by phone 0303 123 1113 within two months of receiving our response.

Re-using our information  

To comply with the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations (2005), information is provided under the Open Government Licence (OGL). This licence does not grant any right to use this information in a way that suggests any official status or that University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust endorse you or your use of the information. The re-use of our information indicates acceptance of the terms and conditions as set out in the OGL. 

Unauthorised re-use may be in breach of copyright law. If you wish to re-use information outside of the licence terms, then please let us know by contacting the FOI Office. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission to re-use. Further guidance about the re-use of information can be found on the National Archives website.  

Where can I find out more?

If you need assistance or have general questions about submitting a request for information, please contact the Freedom of Information Office who will be happy to assist you on [email protected]