Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act, gives the general right of access to all types of records 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.

Responding to requests

All requests for information must be responded to within 28 working days.

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.

Request for information

Requests must be in writing and must include the name and address for the correspondence and a clear description of the information requested.

The Information Commissioner

The Information Commissioner is an independent public body and reports directly to Parliament. The Commissioner is responsible for implementing the Act. Further information can be found at: ico.org.uk