Outcome of NHS England FOI requests
Dear NHS England,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I would like to receive information regarding Freedom of Information requests made to NHS England.
Specifically I would like to know:
1) How many Freedom of Information Requests were received by NHS England from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
2) How many of these Freedom of Information requests were successful and resulted in information being released?
3) How many of these Freedom of Information requests were refused?
4) How many of these Freedom of Information requests were refused because they exceeded the cost limit as set out in Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act?
5) How many of these Freedom of Information requests are still open?
6) How many of these Freedom of Information requests were processed and closed within the 20 working day time limit stipulated under the Freedom of Information Act?
If you cannot answer all of these questions, please answer those that you can within the cost limit as set out in Section 12 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act and do not refuse all of the request as being over the cost limit.
If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
Yours faithfully,
Emma Youle
**THIS IS AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE**
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your email. We are currently receiving a higher than usual
volume of emails so it may take us a little longer to respond directly to
your email. In the meantime, you may find the following information
helpful.
Please note: our normal working hours are 08:00 to 18:00 from Monday to
Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). Emails received at the weekend will not
be reviewed until the next working day.
How can the Customer Contact Centre help me?
NHS England commissions or buys primary care services; for example, GPs,
dentists, opticians, and pharmacy services. We are also responsible for
prison healthcare, military health services, and some specialised
services. We can provide advice about accessing, giving feedback or making
a complaint about these services.
You may be able to find the answer you are looking for in our Frequently
Asked Questions<https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/ho...>
and our website explains how to share feedback or make a
complaint.[1]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/co...
What if I have an enquiry or complaint about hospital care, NHS 111 or
out-of-hours GP services?
If your enquiry or complaint is about secondary care, this includes
hospitals, NHS 111, mental health services, out-of-hours services and
community services such as district nursing, you will need to contact the
organisation that provided the service. All hospitals have a Patient
Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
[2]https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questio...
. Alternatively, you can contact your local Clinical Commissioning Group
(CCG). You can find their contact details on the NHS
website[3]https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Clinic...
Does the NHS England Customer Contact Centre provide medical advice?
No. Our advisors are not clinically trained and are unable to provide
medical advice. If you require emergency medical attention, dial 999 or
attend your local Accident and Emergency department if you are able to do
so.
If you require non-urgent medical advice please contact your GP, local
walk-in or urgent healthcare centre, or call NHS 111. Calls are free from
landlines and mobile phones.
How do I report a change of name or address?
You should report a change of name or address to your GP practice so they
can update their records. If your new address is outside the practice’s
catchment area you may be asked to register with a new GP practice.
You should also advise your dentist or optician of a change of name or
address as they keep their own records.
Where can I find further information about NHS England?
You can find information about NHS England and our work on our
website[4]https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/
How do you use my information?
NHS England’s privacy notice explains how we use, share and store your
personal information. You can find this on our
website.[5]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/pr...
NHS England Customer Contact Centre
Dear Emma Youle,
Thank you for your communication dated 06/01/2021.
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 here.
If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][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, [2][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: [3][NHS England request email]
‘High quality care for all, now and for future generations’
Dear Emma Youle,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 6 January
2021.
Your exact request was:
“I would like to receive information regarding Freedom of Information
requests made to NHS England. Specifically I would like to know:
1. How many Freedom of Information Requests were received by NHS England
from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020?
2. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were successful and
resulted in information being released?
3. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were refused?
4. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were refused because
they exceeded the cost limit as set out in Section 12(1) of the
Freedom of Information Act?
5. How many of these Freedom of Information requests are still open?
6. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were processed and
closed within the 20 working day time limit stipulated under the
Freedom of Information Act?”
NHS England holds information in relation to your 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.
For Question 4, to locate and retrieve the information you have requested
would require NHS England to review each individual FOI response which NHS
England has issued in the past 12 months to determine whether Section 12
was applied to any case. This is because responses are not recorded by
exemption or reason for refusal.
We can estimate there are around 820 resolved cases which would require
locating and reviewing in order to extract relevant information in
relation to this question. We have estimated under section 12(1) of the
FOI Act that to locate, retrieve, extract and collate the information
requested will take approximately 1.5 minutes to conduct per case and
therefore, will take 20.5 hours to complete. As a result, this takes us
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; to limit your request to only Questions 1,
2, 3, 5 and 6 or to limit the timeframe for Question 4, 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.
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: [1][NHS England request email]
Please quote the reference number FOI-2101-1312808 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 following weblink:
[2]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
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, [3][NHS England request email].
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer
NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [4][NHS England request email]
Dear FOI team,
Thanks for your response. I am narrowing my request to the following four questions, which should bring it easily within the cost limit you have described in your response.
1. How many Freedom of Information Requests were received by NHS England from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020?
2. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were successful and resulted in information being released?
3. How many of these Freedom of Information requests were refused?
4. How many of these Freedom of Information requests are still open?
I look forward to hearing from you and receiving this information.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Youle
Dear Emma Youle,
Thank you for your communication dated 27 January 2021.
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 here.
If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][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, [2][NHS England request email].
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer
NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [3][NHS England request email]
‘Health and High quality care for all, now and for future generations’
Dear Emma Youle,
We are writing in relation to the information request you submitted on 27
January 2021. Your full request can be found in the email below.
We apologise for the long delay you have experienced so far. NHS England
is currently facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic, including receiving significantly more Freedom of
Information requests than usual. This has led to significant delays in the
handling of some requests.
Given the period of time which has passed since you submitted your
request, we are contacting you to ask whether you still require a response
to your request. While we take our statutory duties in respect of Freedom
of Information legislation very seriously, we also need to allocate
resources efficiently to focus on requests where a response will still be
useful to the requester.
Should you wish NHS England to continue processing your request we ask
that you confirm this by responding to this email at
[1][email address] by no later than 22 November 2021. If we do not
hear from you by this date, we will consider that you no longer wish to
pursue your request and will treat it as withdrawn.
Should you wish your request to remain open, we will endeavour to provide
a response to you as promptly as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information
Communications
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer
NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [2][NHS England request email]
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