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GMS/PMS GP contracts held by organisation that is non an unlimited liability partnership

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Dear NHS England,

I would like to make a freedom of information request.

Please could you share any briefing papers, information, strategic discussions and summary of any legal advice taken and minutes of meetings since April 2013 on the following topics:

1. Whether GMS/PMS contracts could or should be able to be held by an organisation that is not an unlimited liability partnership.
2. Whether GMS/PMS contracts could or should be able to be transferred from an unlimited liability partnership to an other type of vehicle without triggering an open APMS tender.
3. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to the commissioners of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation that is not an unlimited liability partnership.
4. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to the wider NHS of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation that is not an unlimited liability partnership.
5. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to GMS/PMS contract holders of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation that is not an unlimited liability partnership.

Please could you also supply any information that answers the following questions:

6. Are there any GMS/PMS contracts held by organisations that are not unlimited liability partnerships, and if so how many and what types of organisations hold them?
7. Are there any examples since April 2013 of GMS/PMS contract holders moving from an unlimited liability partnership to any other model of contract holding without triggering a list dispersal or open APMS tender?

Many thanks.

Yours faithfully,

Simon Gilbert

CONTACTUS, England (NHS ENGLAND), NHS England

 

 

Dear Customer,

 Thank you for contacting NHS Customer Contact Centre.  We have received
your email and a member of our Customer Service team will be respond to
you in due course.

In the meantime, the following information may be able to help you access
information immediately.

NHS England commissions or buys primary care services; for example, GPs,
dentists, opticians, and pharmacy services. We also commission health and
justice, military health services plus some specialised services. We can
advise you how to access, give feedback or make a complaint about the
services we commission.

NHS England does not commission secondary care (with the exception of
Specialised Services). This includes hospital care, NHS 111 services,
mental health services, out-of-hours services and community services such
as district nursing. These services are commissioned by Clinical
Commissioning Groups (CCGs). If you need advice about accessing secondary
care, you should contact your local CCG. You can find their contact
details using the [1]service finder on the NHS Choices website .

You may also refer to the following links for further information about
NHS England

 [2]https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/

[3]https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/

[4]https://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/

[5]https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/

 

and [6]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us for details about the
Customer Contact Centre, which also provides a number of FAQ’s.

If you require medical attention, please contact your GP, call 111 or if
you require urgent medical attention, please dial 999 or attend your local
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If, after receiving this automated response, you no longer think we can
assist with your email, please reply to this email address stating ‘NO
FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED’ and we will not respond to your email.

Kind Regards

NHS England Customer Contact Centre team

* Please note our normal working hours are 08:00 to 18:00 from Monday to
Friday and we regret the delay in reply over the non-working hours.

 

 

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FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND), NHS England

Dear Mr Gilbert,

 

Thank you for your communication dated 15 December 2017.

 

NHS England has assessed your communication as a request under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000. As such, please be assured that your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the FOI Act and will be
answered within twenty working days.

 

For further information regarding the FOI Act, please refer to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. For further information
regarding NHS England and the information it publishes please visit our
website [1]here.

 

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [2][NHS England request email] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the above reference
number in any future communications.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [3][NHS England request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [4][NHS England request email]

 

‘Health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations’

 

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FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND), NHS England

Dear Mr Gilbert,

 

Re:      Freedom of Information request (Our Ref: FOI-055199)

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 15 December
2017.

 

Your exact request was:-

 

“Please could you share any briefing papers, information, strategic
discussions and summary of any legal advice taken and minutes of meetings
since April 2013 on the following topics:

 

1. Whether GMS/PMS contracts could or should be able to be held by an
organisation that is not an unlimited liability partnership.

2. Whether GMS/PMS contracts could or should be able to be transferred
from an unlimited liability partnership to an other type of vehicle
without triggering an open APMS tender.

3. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to the
commissioners of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation that is
not an unlimited liability partnership.

4. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to the
wider NHS of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation that is not an
unlimited liability partnership.

5. Any discussion or analysis on the advantages and disadvantages to
GMS/PMS contract holders of allowing GMS/PMS to be held by an organisation
that is not an unlimited liability partnership.

 

Please could you also supply any information that answers the following
questions:

 

6. Are there any GMS/PMS contracts held by organisations that are not
unlimited liability partnerships, and if so how many and what types of
organisations hold them?

7. Are there any examples since April 2013 of GMS/PMS contract holders
moving from an unlimited liability partnership to any other model of
contract holding without triggering a list dispersal or open APMS tender?”

NHS England may hold some information in relation to this request.

 

However, we consider that to respond to your request as it is currently
framed would exceed the cost limit as set out in Section 12(1) of the FOI
Act. Section 12(1) states that a public authority can refuse a request if
complying with it would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 (which
represents 18 hours).  This represents the estimated cost of one person
spending this time in determining whether the information is held, and
locating, retrieving and extracting the information. We have outlined
reasoning for invoking Section 12(1) below.

 

To locate and retrieve the information you have requested would require
NHS England to;

 

o determine whether we hold the information,
o locate the information, or a document which may contain the
information,
o retrieve the information, or a document which may contain the
information,
o extract the information from a document containing it.

 

We can estimate there are several thousand files across over a dozen
regional teams and several dozen legacy teams for information prior to
April 2013 which would require locating and reviewing in order to extract
relevant information in relation to your request. Due to the scope of this
request we cannot provide an exact estimate of time and cost, but are
assured that it will exceed the appropriate limit as set out in Section 12
(1). As a result, this takes over the time and cost threshold in
considering an FOI request and any appropriate action to be taken.

 

Section 12(1) is an absolute exemption therefore we are not required to
assess the public interest test in its application.

 

However, if you were to refine your request for information within more
specific margins, for example; focussing on a specific geographical area
within a specific timeframe, then we may be able to continue processing
your request. Please note we cannot guarantee that Section 12(1) or any
other exemptions will not apply to any information requested.

 

It may also help further requests if you define what is meant by unlimited
liability partnership within the context of this request and whether in
relation to question seven if this relates to PMS contract holders who
have reverted to GMS or whether this is in regards to PMS/GMS contract
holders who also hold APMS contracts

 

Please be assured we are keen to assist with your enquiry. However, we
cannot guarantee that Section 12 or any other exemptions under the FOI act
will not apply to any further information requested.

 

Please send your clarified request to [1][NHS England request email] quoting
your reference number as it appears in the subject bar.

 

We hope this information is helpful. However, if you are dissatisfied, you
have the right to ask for an internal review. This should be requested in
writing within two months of the date of this letter. Your correspondence
should be labelled “Internal Review” and should outline your concerns
and/or the area(s) you would like the review to consider. Internal Review
requests should be sent to:

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Email: [2][NHS England request email]

 

Please quote the reference number FOI-055199 in any future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [3][email address]  

Website: [4]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Please be aware that in line with the Information Commissioner’s directive
on the disclosure of information under the FOI Act, your request will be
anonymised and published on our website as part of our disclosure log.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [5][NHS England request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [6][NHS England request email]

 

‘Health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations’

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Simon Gilbert please sign in and let everyone know.