Chief Executive
2 Franklin Street
BELFAST
BT2 8DQ
Tel: 028 9536 3863
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxx.xxx
21st July 2020
BY EMAIL
request-666357-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our Ref: FOI 1255 Dear Mr Kurt,
Your request for information was received on 10th June 2020 and was dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please be advised that the
Business Services Organisation (BSO) has now completed its search for the
information you requested with regards to a list of GP practices in Northern Ireland
and the clinical system they use.
Firstly, please accept my apologies for the delay in providing you with a formal
response regarding your request.
Please find this information below:
I must advise you that the information pertaining to clinical systems used by GP
Practices in Northern Ireland has been considered exempt from disclosure in line with
Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('Law Enforcement').
I should explain that BSO's Information Technology Service (ITS) has been
commissioned to provide ICT shared services to the wider Health and Social Care
(HSC). Essential elements of the service include the security of the data held and the
protection of the HSC network boundary Section 31 is also a qualified exemption
which means that the public interest test (PIT) must be considered. This involves
weighing the harm resulting from possible disclosure against the likely benefit to the
wider public.
A copy of PIT is attached for your reference. In considering the PIT, I
acknowledge that there may be a public interest for disclosure in line with BSO's
requirement to be open and transparent in its use of public monies and provision
of public services. However, while I make no suggestion that there is
any malicious intent on your part; provision (and therefore publication) would be
capable of making BSO, and the wider Health and Social Care, vulnerable to
malicious attack. I therefore consider that the public interest in withholding this
information outweighs the public interest in supplying it.
However, please find below GP Practice information that is already out in the
public domain:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/gp-practices
http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/1816.htm
I hope that the information provided assists you. If you are dissatisfied in any way with
the handling of your request, you have the right to request a review. You should do
this as soon as possible or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter.
In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can do so by writing to
Information Governance Manager,
2 Franklin Street,
Belfast,
BT2 8DQ
If, following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision making panel,
you remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the request, you may make a
complaint under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act, to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and ask that they investigate whether the BSO has complied
with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.
You can contact Information Commissioner at:
Website:
www.ico.org.uk
Phone:
0303 123 1113
Email:
xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Post:
Information Commissioner's Office
3rd Floor, 14 Cromac Place
Belfast
BT7 2JB
In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not investigate a complaint
unless an internal review procedure has been carried out. However the Commissioner
has the option to investigate the matter at his discretion.
Yours Sincerely,
Karen Bailey
Acting Chief Executive