ICO "views" on GP actions

The request was successful.

Dear ICO,

I would like to make some requests under the FOI Act.

For the purposes of the Act, the date of your receipt of this request will be 22nd April 2010.

You have very kindly provided me with (redacted) minutes of a meeting held between CfH and the ICO on Feb 3rd 2010.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/31...

In a separate request, I have now requested the full, unredacted minutes.

In these minutes, I note the following:

"NHS CFH WILL SEEK A VIEW FROM THE ICO ABOUT GPS WHO OPT ALL OF THEIR PATIENTS OUT WITHOUT CONSULTING THEM"

"THE ICO WILL GIVE NHS CFH A VIEW ON THE LAWFULNESS OF GPS OPTING THEIR PATIENTS OUT EN MASSE WITHOUT CONSULTING THEM FIRST"

• Please could you provide me with these 2 "views" (or perhaps it is just one "combined" view)

• Please could you confirm the date of the next planned meeting between CfH and the ICO, on or after February 4th 2010.

As per Section 4a of Part 1 of the FOI Act
( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ) I would like the information in question held at the time when my request is received (draft or otherwise), except that account may be taken of any amendment or deletion made between now and the latest time by which the information is to be communicated to me, being an amendment or deletion that would have been made regardless of the receipt of my request.

I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to send me the requested information promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt of my request - that is by then end of the working day of 21st May.

If my request is denied in whole or in part, or specific items within the responses are withheld from disclosure, then you must justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act, as per Section 17 of the Act
( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ). Where you rely on a qualified exemption to withhold disclosure, you are obliged to consider the public interest in your decision and the refusal notice must explain not only which exemption applies and why, but also the public interest arguments addressed in reaching the decision.

I wish to receive the information by email; I believe such a request would be reasonable in these circumstances. As per Section 11 of Part 1 of the FOI Act ( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ) I would be grateful if you would "so far as reasonably practicable give effect to that preference"; if you determine that it is not reasonably practicable to comply with this preference then you are required by law to notify me of the reasons for your determination.

The “return address” (to which the information that I have requested be should be sent ) is the email address that this particular request originates from.

I would be grateful if you would kindly acknowledge receipt of this request as recommended by the ICO (“It would be good practice to acknowledge receipt of requests and to refer to the 20 working day time limit, so that applicants know their request is being dealt with”).

Thank you once again.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Neil Bhatia

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

22 April 2010

Case Reference Number IRQ0308695

Dear Dr Bhatia

Thank you for your email of 21 April 2010 in which you have made a request
for information to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You have asked
us for the following:

* “ Please could you provide me with these 2 "views" (or perhaps it
is just one "combined" view)

* Please could you confirm the date of the next planned meeting
between CfH and the ICO, on or after February 4th 2010.”

Your request is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond by 20 May 2010 which, taking into
account the early May bank holiday, is 20 working days from the day after
we received your request

Yours sincerely

Helen Ward

Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad51A7D_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

12th May 2010

Case Reference Number IRQ0308695

Dear Dr Bhatia

I am writing further to our email dated 22 April 2010 in which we
acknowledged your request for information to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

As previously explained we are treating your request as a request for
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA).

In the first part of your request you referred to two extracts from the
minutes of a meeting dated 3 February 2010 and your request stated;

“* Please could you provide me with these 2 "views" (or perhaps it
is just one "combined" view)”

In answer to this part of your request please be advised that we do not
hold any recorded information in regard to these “views”.  For your
information the ICO has not provided any “views” to Connecting for
Health in regard to the extracts from the minutes which you have referred
to.

In the second part of your request you have asked;

“* Please could you confirm the date of the next planned meeting
between CfH and the ICO, on or after February 4th 2010.”

With regard to this part of your request please be advised that the date
of the next meeting between Connecting for Health and the ICO is 18 May
2010.

I trust that this information is of use to you however if you are
dissatisfied with the response you have received and wish to request a
review of our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been
handled you should write to the Internal Compliance Team at the address
below or e-mail [2][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Joanne Crowley

Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad39721_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]

Dr Neil Bhatia left an annotation ()

Information about the NHS Database / Summary Care Record can be found on my site:

www.summarycarerecord.info