Use of herbicide containing Glyphosate on hospital grounds
Dear Information Officer,
This is a request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. I would like to request the following information:
What is your policy for weed control in the hospital's grounds?
Do you use herbicides containing glyphosate eg Roundup, Weedol etc
If yes, what do you use
What areas have been sprayed with herbicides containing glyphosate?
What is your policy on the use of glyphosate?
What precautions were taken ahead of its use?
For the calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, please can you tell me:
The volume of these herbicides you have you used
The cost
I would like to receive the information electronically - preferably in an Excel format. If you feel that a substantive response to this request is not possible within a reasonable time frame, or the request is too broad or too vague, I would be grateful if you could contact me and provide assistance as to how I could refine the request.
Many thanks.
Juliet Ferguson
Information Governance Department
Charter House
7 Alma Street
Luton
LU1 2PJ
Email: [East London NHS Foundation Trust request email]
Our Ref: FOI DA4227
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request received by the Trust on 06 June 2022.
Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days. For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then it will not be released. You will be informed if this is the case.
If the information you request was obtained from or relates to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release the information to you.
In some cases there may be a fee payable for the information requested. This will be considered and you will be informed of the fee payable if this is the case. In this event the fee must be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 day time limit for responses is put on hold until receipt of the payment. If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact us. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Whilst we will make every effort to respond to your request within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days, it may not be possible to respond on time due to the pressures of COVID 19 and the need to ensure the well-being of our staff and service users. We will write to you if we anticipate a delay and hope in advance that you will accept our apologies if this should occur.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
East London NHS Foundation Trust
If you are dissatisfied with the Trust’s response to your FOIA request then you should contact us and we will arrange for an internal review of this decision. If you remain dissatisfied with the decision following our response to your complaint, you may write to the Information Commissioner for a decision under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Web: www.ico.org.uk
Dear Juliet,
Please find attached the Trust’s response to your Freedom of Information
request.
Yours sincerely
Shuchi Joshi (she/her)
FOI Team
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Dear Ms. Joshi,
Thanks for your reply. It seems that your subcontractor, OCS Group, failed to provide information in relation to the cost and volume of glyphosate used for the calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
I would be obliged if this information could please be provided at your earliest convenience in order to complete my request.
Yours sincerely,
Juliet Ferguson
Dear Juliet,
As we contract OCS to provide a number of services on behalf of the Trust, we do not hold this information and are therefore unable to provide it.
Kind regards,
Lara Cousens
Information Governance Manager - Information Rights
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Information Governance Team
Charter House, 7 Alma Street, Luton, LU1 2PJ
e) [email address]
t) 07940001136
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