Information Governance
Stella House, Goldcrest Way
Laura Ko
Newburn Riverside
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE15 8NY
Email
: xxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx
Website
: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Ref: 23344
Date: 28 March 2022
Dear Laura Ko
Subject: Freedom of information request
I am writing to confirm that I have now completed my search for the information which you
requested on 28 February 2022 as outlined below:
‘Dear NHS Business Services Authority,
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Please provide any
information that you hold answering to any of the following descriptions:
1. Any application you made (or intend to make) in 2021 or 2022 to be a "Stonewall
Diversity Champion" or to be included on Stonewall's "Workplace Equality Index,"
including any attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.
2. Any feedback you received in 2021, or to date, from Stonewall in relation to either
application or programme.
3. Any other communication you have received from Stonewall in 2021 or 2022 unless
privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure (but if you claim privilege or exemption in
relation to any material, please say in broad terms what the material is and the basis on
which you claim to be entitled to withhold it).
4. Full details of any equality impact assessment you carried out connected with any of
these applications (including any equality impact assessment carried out prior to an earlier
application of the same kind, if no further assessment was done).
5. Details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall (i) in 2021; (ii) in 2022,
whether or not as payment for goods or services.
6. Whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall scheme in the
future, and if so which.’
Response
In your questions you ask for information relating to applications to be a Stonewall
Diversity Champion or to be included in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index.
Please note that becoming a Stonewall Diversity Champion (SDC) does not require an
application, therefore this information is not held.
The NHSBSA has previously submitted an application in 2021 to be included in the
Workplace Equality Index (WEI).Our response below is regarding this WEI 2021
application.
Question 1
WEI Application
An application to be included in the Workplace Equality Index is completed on Stonewall’s
online portal, where the information is hosted. Therefore, this information is not held by the
NHSBSA.
Attachments
The information you requested is being withheld as it falls under the following exemptions
in the Freedom of Information Act:
Section 40 – Personal Information Please be aware that I have decided not to release personal data and special category
personal data relating to NHSBSA staff as this information falls under the exemption in
section 40 subsections 2 and 3 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act. This is because it
would breach the first data protection principle as:
a) it is not fair to disclose NHSBSA staff special category personal details to the world and
is likely to cause damage or distress.
b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the
privacy of NHSBSA staff.
Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40
Section 43 – Commercial Interests
The remainder of the requested information is commercially sensitive information about
Stonewall’s assessment of NHSBSA’s progress against the LGBTQ agenda. The
exemption under FOI section 43(2) is engaged because disclosure would likely damage
Stonewall’s commercial interests as the information could give other organisations
entering the WEI a competitive advantage.
In applying this exemption, NHSBSA has had to balance the public interest in withholding
the information against the public interest in disclosure.
The below web link sets out the exemption in full.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/43
Please see the below factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, and in favour
disclosure of the information.
Factors for Disclosure
•
public interest in disclosure of information concerning NHSBSA’s progress against
LGBTQ and inclusivity
Factors for withholding
•
Disclosure would weaken Stonewall’s ability to participate competitively in any
future commercial activity as organisations would be less willing to engage with its
services if detailed submission and feedback information were shown to be subject to
disclosure and so would lead to a loss of income for Stonewall.
•
Disclosure of this information would prejudice Stonewall’s commercial interests, by
disclosing sensitive information would likely be used by other organisations making a WEI
submission to gain a competitive advantage and undermine confidence in the WEI
Question 2
Feedback supplied by Stonewall was received in confidence under the terms of the
Stonewall data protection and privacy policy. The NHSBSA agreed to abide by this when
submitting the WEI application. This information is being withheld as it falls
under the exemption in section 41(1) ‘Information provided in confidence’ of the Freedom
of Information Act.
Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41
Question 3 and 4
The information requested in these questions is not held. This is because no equality
impact assessment was conducted specific to our WEI submission as this was not
required as part of the application.
Question 5
For the financial year 2021/22 (To date) the total paid is £3,654. This includes:
Stonewall Champion Membership
London workplace Conference
LGBTQ+ and disabilities workshop
Network Group Masterclass
Question 6
Yes – Diversity Champions
Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information
disclosure log at:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-23344 Data Queries
If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data
please conta
ct xxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx ensuring you quote the above reference. This
is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.
If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact
xxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx. This is important to ensure that the figures are not
misunderstood or misrepresented.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under
the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement:
“NHSBSA Copyright 2022” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open
Government Licence:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.
Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be
protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information
originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non
NHSBSA Copyright) information.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish
to make a complaint or request a review of my decision, please write within 40 working
days of the date of this letter to:
Chris Gooday
Information Governance Manager
NHS Business Services Authority
Stella House
Goldcrest Way
Newburn Riverside Business Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE15 8NY
Details of how we will handle your review request are available on our website at:
https://bit.ly/2Sjdk2H If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Please note that generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the NHS Business Services
Authority’s complaints procedure.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:-
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510
Email
: xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please quote the reference
number above in any future.
Yours sincerely
Chris Dunn
Information Governance Specialist