Dear S Bartlett, 

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
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [3][NHS England request email]

show quoted sections

Dear S Bartlett,

We are writing with regard to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request
dated 29 July 2022.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request.
NHS England is not in a position to respond to your request at this time.
We are still in the process of assessing your request and will provide you
with a full response as soon as possible.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please be aware that
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 Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Email: [1][email address]
Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

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
Corporate Communications Team
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [4][NHS England request email]

‘Health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations’

show quoted sections

Dear S Bartlett,  

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 29 July
2022. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding.

Your exact request was:

“Please can you

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or services.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

If the answer to any part of 1 is yes please supply:

4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).”

NHS England holds some information in relation to your request.

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

We can confirm that NHS England applied to the Workplace Equality Index in
2018/19, 2019/20 and 2021/22.

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or
services.

This information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

We are currently a member of the Stonewall scheme, and we regularly keep
all of our organisational memberships under review.
4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

We can confirm that NHS England submitted an application in 2018/19,
however we have found no record of a copy in our files as the application
was submitted online. However please find our application forms and
evidence for 2019/20 and 2021/22 attached.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).

Please find attached feedback received from Stonewall in 2019/20 and
2021/22.

Attachments

Please note in relation to Stonewall applications, evidence and feedback
are attached.

NHS England has provided some of this information. Please note that
information in relation to personal experiences, involvement, pictures,
names, contact details and job titles of all staff members have been
redacted from these documents under sections 38 and 40 of the FOI Act.
This all relates to personal information and as such all staff have been
protected as private members of the public.

NHS England has fully redacted Section 6 of the Stonewall applications and
supporting evidence, in relation to Employee personal characteristics data
under sections 40 and 41 of the FOI Act.

Section 40 - Personal information

Information is exempt under section 40(2) where that information
constitutes personal data (other than that of the requester) and one of
the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the FOI Act
disclosure of this information would contravene data protection
principles. Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not
subject to the public interest test when considering the disclosure of
information. 
 
In the instance of section 6, the information withheld relates to the
personal information of third parties in relation to sexual orientation
and gender. In the instance of the remaining attachments, the personal
experiences, photos, the name and contact details of all staff members at
or below Band 9 have been withheld, as have job titles in instances where
the release of that information could be reasonably used to identify
individuals who have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Please note that the section 6 information has also been withheld under
Section 41 of the FOI Act, which exempts from the general duty to release
information provided in confidence. In this instance, Section 41 is being
used to withhold the personal characteristics data.

Additionally, we will demonstrate the quality of confidence, the
obligation of confidence and detriment to the confider that were the basis
for the decision to use Section 41.

Section 41 – information provided in confidence

Section 41(1) provides that information is exempt if:

a.      it was obtained by the public authority from any other person
(including another public authority), and

b.     the disclosure of the information to the public (otherwise than
under this Act) by the public authority holding it would constitute a
breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

The test in section 41(1)(a) is met as the information that has been
provided to NHS England was received from third parties. In this instance,
the information was provided to NHS England (i.e. the employer) by
individual employees (i.e. the confiders).

The test in section 41(1)(b) is met if it is demonstrated that disclosure
would amount to an actionable breach of confidence. This means:

                    i.          the information must have the necessary
quality of confidence about it;

                  ii.          the information must have been imparted in
circumstances giving rise to an obligation of confidence;

                iii.          the disclosure must amount to the
unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.

We consider that the withheld information has been obtained by NHS England
and it meets the required threshold under section 41(1)(b) as explained in
detail below.
 
Quality of Confidence 
 
We consider the information being withheld possesses the necessary quality
of confidence in that it is more than trivial and not otherwise
accessible.

The characteristics data was special category personal data and was
clearly provided by employees in confidence as outlined on the data
collection forms.

Obligation of Confidence 
 
The information was provided by a third party and provided in confidence.
It is important that NHS England is able to create an environment of
confidentially and trust amongst its staff. The third party had a
reasonable expectation that we would act in a confidential manner in
relation to this personal characteristics data. We, therefore, consider
there is both an explicit and implicit obligation of confidence when the
confiders shared this information with NHS England.
 
Detriment to the confider 
 
The information provided by the individual was provided in confidence.
Sharing of information which is provided in confidence would breakdown NHS
England’s assurances of confidentiality and is likely to have a negative
impact. NHS England breaching this confidentiality may lead to a breakdown
in trust, cause reputational damage and may inhibit future transparency.
Users may become unwilling to support the program in the future.

Section 38 – Health and Safety

NHS England has withheld some information in relation to the personal
experiences, photos, names and contact details of all staff members above
Band 9 and relating to specific teams under Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI
Act (Health and Safety).
 
Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI Act exempts information from disclosure if it
would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any
individual (which includes any specific individuals, any member of the
public, or groups within society).

We consider disclosure of the information being requested would be likely
to endanger the mental health of NHS England and third-party organisation
staff members.

Section 38 is a qualified exemption and, as such, we are required to
assess both the prejudice test and the public interest test in withholding
this information against that of its release.

When assessing the prejudice test, NHS England needs to demonstrate that
there would be an impact on an individual’s health and safety should the
information be released, and we need to factor in the degree of
endangerment that is involved and whether it is significant.

The information being withheld covering senior staff and specific small
teams is redacted throughout the application and supporting information.
These detail key interactions and support within the LGBT+ staff community
and programme. There is a found concern that if this information were to
be disclosed, motivated individuals could use this information to target
our staff members as potential members of the LGBT+ community, and those
involved with work in this area received abuse.

We consider our staff have a right to be able to conduct their official
duties in a safe environment without receiving abuse. Such abuse would
likely extend into their personal lives (e.g. individuals contacting staff
on social media platforms such as Twitter which is used in a personal
capacity). It is our duty as employers to protect our staff’s mental
wellbeing and to not make any potential pre-existing mental health issues
worse. If users are identified by their Twitter profiles, users could
potentially be a target for physical abuse.

As such, we are engaging this exemption as full disclosure of this
information would be highly likely to endanger the mental health of the
individuals.

NHS England is also required to conduct the public interest test, which
assesses whether releasing the information would be in the public interest
despite the prejudice test being satisfied.

We consider the following arguments in favour of disclosure:

• furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of
issues of the day;
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them; and
• promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

We consider the following arguments in favour of non-disclosure:

• protecting NHS England’s staff members in both their professional and
personal capacities; and
• staff within NHS England need to feel safe when completing their
day-to-day activities.

We acknowledge NHS England needs to be accountable for the work it is
involved in and any decisions it takes which may affect the public.

However, we consider the information we have withheld under section 38
does not provide any further detail or clarity to the underlying aim of
this request, which we understand is to see how NHS England is involved
with the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

We have also taken into account the likelihood and severity of the harm
which takes place.

We consider the severity of the endangerment to staff (i.e. the impact of
the prejudice when it happens) is a serious matter. Staff within NHS
England should feel safe when working. We need to protect their mental
health and not make any pre-existing mental health issues worse.

With respect to the likelihood, we’ve stated above that we consider
disclosure ‘would be likely' to cause harm. Although we cannot say for
certainty that harm will definitely take place, we consider that there is
a real likelihood this would take place. Disclosure of information under
the FOI Act is the same as disclosure to the world at large. Given the
potential severity of the harm should it take place, we consider this
carries significant weight when considering the public interest test.

We have therefore concluded that the public interest is best served by
withholding the information being requested.

Please note that some of this information has also been redacted under
section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information
constitutes third-party data. Information on this has been provided above.

Due to the size and number of documents, they will be sent in 4 parts.

Part 1 – 29 documents – 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.2,
8.1 and Q2.

Part 2 – 5 documents – Application Form 2019, 2020 and Feedback 2019 to
2022.

Part 3 – 20 documents – Evidence 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
and 2.5

Part 4 – 18 documents – Evidence 2.6, 3.1, 3.4, 4.3-4.6, 5.2 and 8.2.

Please let us know if there are any issues in receiving these documents.

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-2208-1809495 in any future
communications.

Copyright:- NHS England operates under the terms of the open government
licence. Please see the NHS England Terms and conditions on the
following link [2]http://www.england.nhs.uk/terms-and-cond...

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:
 
[3]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

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, [4][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [5][NHS England request email]

show quoted sections

Dear S Bartlett,  

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 29 July
2022. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding.

Your exact request was:

“Please can you

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or services.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

If the answer to any part of 1 is yes please supply:

4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).”

NHS England holds some information in relation to your request.

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

We can confirm that NHS England applied to the Workplace Equality Index in
2018/19, 2019/20 and 2021/22.

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or
services.

This information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

We are currently a member of the Stonewall scheme, and we regularly keep
all of our organisational memberships under review.
4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

We can confirm that NHS England submitted an application in 2018/19,
however we have found no record of a copy in our files as the application
was submitted online. However please find our application forms and
evidence for 2019/20 and 2021/22 attached.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).

Please find attached feedback received from Stonewall in 2019/20 and
2021/22.

Attachments

Please note in relation to Stonewall applications, evidence and feedback
are attached.

NHS England has provided some of this information. Please note that
information in relation to personal experiences, involvement, pictures,
names, contact details and job titles of all staff members have been
redacted from these documents under sections 38 and 40 of the FOI Act.
This all relates to personal information and as such all staff have been
protected as private members of the public.

NHS England has fully redacted Section 6 of the Stonewall applications and
supporting evidence, in relation to Employee personal characteristics data
under sections 40 and 41 of the FOI Act.

Section 40 - Personal information

Information is exempt under section 40(2) where that information
constitutes personal data (other than that of the requester) and one of
the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the FOI Act
disclosure of this information would contravene data protection
principles. Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not
subject to the public interest test when considering the disclosure of
information. 
 
In the instance of section 6, the information withheld relates to the
personal information of third parties in relation to sexual orientation
and gender. In the instance of the remaining attachments, the personal
experiences, photos, the name and contact details of all staff members at
or below Band 9 have been withheld, as have job titles in instances where
the release of that information could be reasonably used to identify
individuals who have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Please note that the section 6 information has also been withheld under
Section 41 of the FOI Act, which exempts from the general duty to release
information provided in confidence. In this instance, Section 41 is being
used to withhold the personal characteristics data.

Additionally, we will demonstrate the quality of confidence, the
obligation of confidence and detriment to the confider that were the basis
for the decision to use Section 41.

Section 41 – information provided in confidence

Section 41(1) provides that information is exempt if:

a.      it was obtained by the public authority from any other person
(including another public authority), and

b.     the disclosure of the information to the public (otherwise than
under this Act) by the public authority holding it would constitute a
breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

The test in section 41(1)(a) is met as the information that has been
provided to NHS England was received from third parties. In this instance,
the information was provided to NHS England (i.e. the employer) by
individual employees (i.e. the confiders).

The test in section 41(1)(b) is met if it is demonstrated that disclosure
would amount to an actionable breach of confidence. This means:

                    i.          the information must have the necessary
quality of confidence about it;

                  ii.          the information must have been imparted in
circumstances giving rise to an obligation of confidence;

                iii.          the disclosure must amount to the
unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.

We consider that the withheld information has been obtained by NHS England
and it meets the required threshold under section 41(1)(b) as explained in
detail below.
 
Quality of Confidence 
 
We consider the information being withheld possesses the necessary quality
of confidence in that it is more than trivial and not otherwise
accessible.

The characteristics data was special category personal data and was
clearly provided by employees in confidence as outlined on the data
collection forms.

Obligation of Confidence 
 
The information was provided by a third party and provided in confidence.
It is important that NHS England is able to create an environment of
confidentially and trust amongst its staff. The third party had a
reasonable expectation that we would act in a confidential manner in
relation to this personal characteristics data. We, therefore, consider
there is both an explicit and implicit obligation of confidence when the
confiders shared this information with NHS England.
 
Detriment to the confider 
 
The information provided by the individual was provided in confidence.
Sharing of information which is provided in confidence would breakdown NHS
England’s assurances of confidentiality and is likely to have a negative
impact. NHS England breaching this confidentiality may lead to a breakdown
in trust, cause reputational damage and may inhibit future transparency.
Users may become unwilling to support the program in the future.

Section 38 – Health and Safety

NHS England has withheld some information in relation to the personal
experiences, photos, names and contact details of all staff members above
Band 9 and relating to specific teams under Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI
Act (Health and Safety).
 
Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI Act exempts information from disclosure if it
would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any
individual (which includes any specific individuals, any member of the
public, or groups within society).

We consider disclosure of the information being requested would be likely
to endanger the mental health of NHS England and third-party organisation
staff members.

Section 38 is a qualified exemption and, as such, we are required to
assess both the prejudice test and the public interest test in withholding
this information against that of its release.

When assessing the prejudice test, NHS England needs to demonstrate that
there would be an impact on an individual’s health and safety should the
information be released, and we need to factor in the degree of
endangerment that is involved and whether it is significant.

The information being withheld covering senior staff and specific small
teams is redacted throughout the application and supporting information.
These detail key interactions and support within the LGBT+ staff community
and programme. There is a found concern that if this information were to
be disclosed, motivated individuals could use this information to target
our staff members as potential members of the LGBT+ community, and those
involved with work in this area received abuse.

We consider our staff have a right to be able to conduct their official
duties in a safe environment without receiving abuse. Such abuse would
likely extend into their personal lives (e.g. individuals contacting staff
on social media platforms such as Twitter which is used in a personal
capacity). It is our duty as employers to protect our staff’s mental
wellbeing and to not make any potential pre-existing mental health issues
worse. If users are identified by their Twitter profiles, users could
potentially be a target for physical abuse.

As such, we are engaging this exemption as full disclosure of this
information would be highly likely to endanger the mental health of the
individuals.

NHS England is also required to conduct the public interest test, which
assesses whether releasing the information would be in the public interest
despite the prejudice test being satisfied.

We consider the following arguments in favour of disclosure:

• furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of
issues of the day;
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them; and
• promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

We consider the following arguments in favour of non-disclosure:

• protecting NHS England’s staff members in both their professional and
personal capacities; and
• staff within NHS England need to feel safe when completing their
day-to-day activities.

We acknowledge NHS England needs to be accountable for the work it is
involved in and any decisions it takes which may affect the public.

However, we consider the information we have withheld under section 38
does not provide any further detail or clarity to the underlying aim of
this request, which we understand is to see how NHS England is involved
with the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

We have also taken into account the likelihood and severity of the harm
which takes place.

We consider the severity of the endangerment to staff (i.e. the impact of
the prejudice when it happens) is a serious matter. Staff within NHS
England should feel safe when working. We need to protect their mental
health and not make any pre-existing mental health issues worse.

With respect to the likelihood, we’ve stated above that we consider
disclosure ‘would be likely' to cause harm. Although we cannot say for
certainty that harm will definitely take place, we consider that there is
a real likelihood this would take place. Disclosure of information under
the FOI Act is the same as disclosure to the world at large. Given the
potential severity of the harm should it take place, we consider this
carries significant weight when considering the public interest test.

We have therefore concluded that the public interest is best served by
withholding the information being requested.

Please note that some of this information has also been redacted under
section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information
constitutes third-party data. Information on this has been provided above.

Due to the size and number of documents, they will be sent in 4 parts.

Part 1 – 29 documents – 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.2,
8.1 and Q2.

Part 2 – 5 documents – Application Form 2019, 2020 and Feedback 2019 to
2022.

Part 3 – 20 documents – Evidence 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
and 2.5

Part 4 – 18 documents – Evidence 2.6, 3.1, 3.4, 4.3-4.6, 5.2 and 8.2.

Please let us know if there are any issues in receiving these documents.

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-2208-1809495 in any future
communications.

Copyright:- NHS England operates under the terms of the open government
licence. Please see the NHS England Terms and conditions on the
following link [2]http://www.england.nhs.uk/terms-and-cond...

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:
 
[3]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

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, [4][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [5][NHS England request email]

show quoted sections

Dear S Bartlett,  

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 29 July
2022. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding.

Your exact request was:

“Please can you

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or services.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

If the answer to any part of 1 is yes please supply:

4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).”

NHS England holds some information in relation to your request.

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

We can confirm that NHS England applied to the Workplace Equality Index in
2018/19, 2019/20 and 2021/22.

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or
services.

This information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

We are currently a member of the Stonewall scheme, and we regularly keep
all of our organisational memberships under review.
4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

We can confirm that NHS England submitted an application in 2018/19,
however we have found no record of a copy in our files as the application
was submitted online. However please find our application forms and
evidence for 2019/20 and 2021/22 attached.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).

Please find attached feedback received from Stonewall in 2019/20 and
2021/22.

Attachments

Please note in relation to Stonewall applications, evidence and feedback
are attached.

NHS England has provided some of this information. Please note that
information in relation to personal experiences, involvement, pictures,
names, contact details and job titles of all staff members have been
redacted from these documents under sections 38 and 40 of the FOI Act.
This all relates to personal information and as such all staff have been
protected as private members of the public.

NHS England has fully redacted Section 6 of the Stonewall applications and
supporting evidence, in relation to Employee personal characteristics data
under sections 40 and 41 of the FOI Act.

Section 40 - Personal information

Information is exempt under section 40(2) where that information
constitutes personal data (other than that of the requester) and one of
the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the FOI Act
disclosure of this information would contravene data protection
principles. Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not
subject to the public interest test when considering the disclosure of
information. 
 
In the instance of section 6, the information withheld relates to the
personal information of third parties in relation to sexual orientation
and gender. In the instance of the remaining attachments, the personal
experiences, photos, the name and contact details of all staff members at
or below Band 9 have been withheld, as have job titles in instances where
the release of that information could be reasonably used to identify
individuals who have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Please note that the section 6 information has also been withheld under
Section 41 of the FOI Act, which exempts from the general duty to release
information provided in confidence. In this instance, Section 41 is being
used to withhold the personal characteristics data.

Additionally, we will demonstrate the quality of confidence, the
obligation of confidence and detriment to the confider that were the basis
for the decision to use Section 41.

Section 41 – information provided in confidence

Section 41(1) provides that information is exempt if:

a.      it was obtained by the public authority from any other person
(including another public authority), and

b.     the disclosure of the information to the public (otherwise than
under this Act) by the public authority holding it would constitute a
breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

The test in section 41(1)(a) is met as the information that has been
provided to NHS England was received from third parties. In this instance,
the information was provided to NHS England (i.e. the employer) by
individual employees (i.e. the confiders).

The test in section 41(1)(b) is met if it is demonstrated that disclosure
would amount to an actionable breach of confidence. This means:

                    i.          the information must have the necessary
quality of confidence about it;

                  ii.          the information must have been imparted in
circumstances giving rise to an obligation of confidence;

                iii.          the disclosure must amount to the
unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.

We consider that the withheld information has been obtained by NHS England
and it meets the required threshold under section 41(1)(b) as explained in
detail below.
 
Quality of Confidence 
 
We consider the information being withheld possesses the necessary quality
of confidence in that it is more than trivial and not otherwise
accessible.

The characteristics data was special category personal data and was
clearly provided by employees in confidence as outlined on the data
collection forms.

Obligation of Confidence 
 
The information was provided by a third party and provided in confidence.
It is important that NHS England is able to create an environment of
confidentially and trust amongst its staff. The third party had a
reasonable expectation that we would act in a confidential manner in
relation to this personal characteristics data. We, therefore, consider
there is both an explicit and implicit obligation of confidence when the
confiders shared this information with NHS England.
 
Detriment to the confider 
 
The information provided by the individual was provided in confidence.
Sharing of information which is provided in confidence would breakdown NHS
England’s assurances of confidentiality and is likely to have a negative
impact. NHS England breaching this confidentiality may lead to a breakdown
in trust, cause reputational damage and may inhibit future transparency.
Users may become unwilling to support the program in the future.

Section 38 – Health and Safety

NHS England has withheld some information in relation to the personal
experiences, photos, names and contact details of all staff members above
Band 9 and relating to specific teams under Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI
Act (Health and Safety).
 
Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI Act exempts information from disclosure if it
would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any
individual (which includes any specific individuals, any member of the
public, or groups within society).

We consider disclosure of the information being requested would be likely
to endanger the mental health of NHS England and third-party organisation
staff members.

Section 38 is a qualified exemption and, as such, we are required to
assess both the prejudice test and the public interest test in withholding
this information against that of its release.

When assessing the prejudice test, NHS England needs to demonstrate that
there would be an impact on an individual’s health and safety should the
information be released, and we need to factor in the degree of
endangerment that is involved and whether it is significant.

The information being withheld covering senior staff and specific small
teams is redacted throughout the application and supporting information.
These detail key interactions and support within the LGBT+ staff community
and programme. There is a found concern that if this information were to
be disclosed, motivated individuals could use this information to target
our staff members as potential members of the LGBT+ community, and those
involved with work in this area received abuse.

We consider our staff have a right to be able to conduct their official
duties in a safe environment without receiving abuse. Such abuse would
likely extend into their personal lives (e.g. individuals contacting staff
on social media platforms such as Twitter which is used in a personal
capacity). It is our duty as employers to protect our staff’s mental
wellbeing and to not make any potential pre-existing mental health issues
worse. If users are identified by their Twitter profiles, users could
potentially be a target for physical abuse.

As such, we are engaging this exemption as full disclosure of this
information would be highly likely to endanger the mental health of the
individuals.

NHS England is also required to conduct the public interest test, which
assesses whether releasing the information would be in the public interest
despite the prejudice test being satisfied.

We consider the following arguments in favour of disclosure:

• furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of
issues of the day;
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them; and
• promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

We consider the following arguments in favour of non-disclosure:

• protecting NHS England’s staff members in both their professional and
personal capacities; and
• staff within NHS England need to feel safe when completing their
day-to-day activities.

We acknowledge NHS England needs to be accountable for the work it is
involved in and any decisions it takes which may affect the public.

However, we consider the information we have withheld under section 38
does not provide any further detail or clarity to the underlying aim of
this request, which we understand is to see how NHS England is involved
with the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

We have also taken into account the likelihood and severity of the harm
which takes place.

We consider the severity of the endangerment to staff (i.e. the impact of
the prejudice when it happens) is a serious matter. Staff within NHS
England should feel safe when working. We need to protect their mental
health and not make any pre-existing mental health issues worse.

With respect to the likelihood, we’ve stated above that we consider
disclosure ‘would be likely' to cause harm. Although we cannot say for
certainty that harm will definitely take place, we consider that there is
a real likelihood this would take place. Disclosure of information under
the FOI Act is the same as disclosure to the world at large. Given the
potential severity of the harm should it take place, we consider this
carries significant weight when considering the public interest test.

We have therefore concluded that the public interest is best served by
withholding the information being requested.

Please note that some of this information has also been redacted under
section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information
constitutes third-party data. Information on this has been provided above.

Due to the size and number of documents, they will be sent in 4 parts.

Part 1 – 29 documents – 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.2,
8.1 and Q2.

Part 2 – 5 documents – Application Form 2019, 2020 and Feedback 2019 to
2022.

Part 3 – 20 documents – Evidence 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
and 2.5

Part 4 – 18 documents – Evidence 2.6, 3.1, 3.4, 4.3-4.6, 5.2 and 8.2.

Please let us know if there are any issues in receiving these documents.

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-2208-1809495 in any future
communications.

Copyright:- NHS England operates under the terms of the open government
licence. Please see the NHS England Terms and conditions on the
following link [2]http://www.england.nhs.uk/terms-and-cond...

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:
 
[3]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

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, [4][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [5][NHS England request email]

show quoted sections

Dear S Bartlett,  

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 29 July
2022. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding.

Your exact request was:

“Please can you

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or services.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

If the answer to any part of 1 is yes please supply:

4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).”

NHS England holds some information in relation to your request.

1. Confirm whether your organisation applied to be part of the Stonewall
Workplace Equality Index in A) 2018 (for 2019), B) 2019 (for 2020) or C)
2021 (for 2022) (NB the index was suspended in 2020/21 because of Covid)

We can confirm that NHS England applied to the Workplace Equality Index in
2018/19, 2019/20 and 2021/22.

2. Give details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall in
2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 whether or not as payment for goods or
services.

This information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.

3. State whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall
scheme in the future, and if so which.

We are currently a member of the Stonewall scheme, and we regularly keep
all of our organisational memberships under review.
4.  Any application you made in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 to be
included on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, including any
attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal
details if necessary.

We can confirm that NHS England submitted an application in 2018/19,
however we have found no record of a copy in our files as the application
was submitted online. However please find our application forms and
evidence for 2019/20 and 2021/22 attached.

5. Any feedback you received in 2018/19 or 2019/20 or 2021/22 from
Stonewall in relation to either application or programme. This must
include the priorities or objectives written by your organisation’s
representative at the end of the feedback form (under the heading
‘Priorities for the year ahead’ in 2019; ‘Your priorities’ in 2020).

Please find attached feedback received from Stonewall in 2019/20 and
2021/22.

Attachments

Please note in relation to Stonewall applications, evidence and feedback
are attached.

NHS England has provided some of this information. Please note that
information in relation to personal experiences, involvement, pictures,
names, contact details and job titles of all staff members have been
redacted from these documents under sections 38 and 40 of the FOI Act.
This all relates to personal information and as such all staff have been
protected as private members of the public.

NHS England has fully redacted Section 6 of the Stonewall applications and
supporting evidence, in relation to Employee personal characteristics data
under sections 40 and 41 of the FOI Act.

Section 40 - Personal information

Information is exempt under section 40(2) where that information
constitutes personal data (other than that of the requester) and one of
the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the FOI Act
disclosure of this information would contravene data protection
principles. Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not
subject to the public interest test when considering the disclosure of
information. 
 
In the instance of section 6, the information withheld relates to the
personal information of third parties in relation to sexual orientation
and gender. In the instance of the remaining attachments, the personal
experiences, photos, the name and contact details of all staff members at
or below Band 9 have been withheld, as have job titles in instances where
the release of that information could be reasonably used to identify
individuals who have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Please note that the section 6 information has also been withheld under
Section 41 of the FOI Act, which exempts from the general duty to release
information provided in confidence. In this instance, Section 41 is being
used to withhold the personal characteristics data.

Additionally, we will demonstrate the quality of confidence, the
obligation of confidence and detriment to the confider that were the basis
for the decision to use Section 41.

Section 41 – information provided in confidence

Section 41(1) provides that information is exempt if:

a.      it was obtained by the public authority from any other person
(including another public authority), and

b.     the disclosure of the information to the public (otherwise than
under this Act) by the public authority holding it would constitute a
breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

The test in section 41(1)(a) is met as the information that has been
provided to NHS England was received from third parties. In this instance,
the information was provided to NHS England (i.e. the employer) by
individual employees (i.e. the confiders).

The test in section 41(1)(b) is met if it is demonstrated that disclosure
would amount to an actionable breach of confidence. This means:

                    i.          the information must have the necessary
quality of confidence about it;

                  ii.          the information must have been imparted in
circumstances giving rise to an obligation of confidence;

                iii.          the disclosure must amount to the
unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.

We consider that the withheld information has been obtained by NHS England
and it meets the required threshold under section 41(1)(b) as explained in
detail below.
 
Quality of Confidence 
 
We consider the information being withheld possesses the necessary quality
of confidence in that it is more than trivial and not otherwise
accessible.

The characteristics data was special category personal data and was
clearly provided by employees in confidence as outlined on the data
collection forms.

Obligation of Confidence 
 
The information was provided by a third party and provided in confidence.
It is important that NHS England is able to create an environment of
confidentially and trust amongst its staff. The third party had a
reasonable expectation that we would act in a confidential manner in
relation to this personal characteristics data. We, therefore, consider
there is both an explicit and implicit obligation of confidence when the
confiders shared this information with NHS England.
 
Detriment to the confider 
 
The information provided by the individual was provided in confidence.
Sharing of information which is provided in confidence would breakdown NHS
England’s assurances of confidentiality and is likely to have a negative
impact. NHS England breaching this confidentiality may lead to a breakdown
in trust, cause reputational damage and may inhibit future transparency.
Users may become unwilling to support the program in the future.

Section 38 – Health and Safety

NHS England has withheld some information in relation to the personal
experiences, photos, names and contact details of all staff members above
Band 9 and relating to specific teams under Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI
Act (Health and Safety).
 
Section 38(1)(a) of the FOI Act exempts information from disclosure if it
would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any
individual (which includes any specific individuals, any member of the
public, or groups within society).

We consider disclosure of the information being requested would be likely
to endanger the mental health of NHS England and third-party organisation
staff members.

Section 38 is a qualified exemption and, as such, we are required to
assess both the prejudice test and the public interest test in withholding
this information against that of its release.

When assessing the prejudice test, NHS England needs to demonstrate that
there would be an impact on an individual’s health and safety should the
information be released, and we need to factor in the degree of
endangerment that is involved and whether it is significant.

The information being withheld covering senior staff and specific small
teams is redacted throughout the application and supporting information.
These detail key interactions and support within the LGBT+ staff community
and programme. There is a found concern that if this information were to
be disclosed, motivated individuals could use this information to target
our staff members as potential members of the LGBT+ community, and those
involved with work in this area received abuse.

We consider our staff have a right to be able to conduct their official
duties in a safe environment without receiving abuse. Such abuse would
likely extend into their personal lives (e.g. individuals contacting staff
on social media platforms such as Twitter which is used in a personal
capacity). It is our duty as employers to protect our staff’s mental
wellbeing and to not make any potential pre-existing mental health issues
worse. If users are identified by their Twitter profiles, users could
potentially be a target for physical abuse.

As such, we are engaging this exemption as full disclosure of this
information would be highly likely to endanger the mental health of the
individuals.

NHS England is also required to conduct the public interest test, which
assesses whether releasing the information would be in the public interest
despite the prejudice test being satisfied.

We consider the following arguments in favour of disclosure:

• furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of
issues of the day;
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them; and
• promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

We consider the following arguments in favour of non-disclosure:

• protecting NHS England’s staff members in both their professional and
personal capacities; and
• staff within NHS England need to feel safe when completing their
day-to-day activities.

We acknowledge NHS England needs to be accountable for the work it is
involved in and any decisions it takes which may affect the public.

However, we consider the information we have withheld under section 38
does not provide any further detail or clarity to the underlying aim of
this request, which we understand is to see how NHS England is involved
with the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

We have also taken into account the likelihood and severity of the harm
which takes place.

We consider the severity of the endangerment to staff (i.e. the impact of
the prejudice when it happens) is a serious matter. Staff within NHS
England should feel safe when working. We need to protect their mental
health and not make any pre-existing mental health issues worse.

With respect to the likelihood, we’ve stated above that we consider
disclosure ‘would be likely' to cause harm. Although we cannot say for
certainty that harm will definitely take place, we consider that there is
a real likelihood this would take place. Disclosure of information under
the FOI Act is the same as disclosure to the world at large. Given the
potential severity of the harm should it take place, we consider this
carries significant weight when considering the public interest test.

We have therefore concluded that the public interest is best served by
withholding the information being requested.

Please note that some of this information has also been redacted under
section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information
constitutes third-party data. Information on this has been provided above.

Due to the size and number of documents, they will be sent in 4 parts.

Part 1 – 29 documents – 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.2,
8.1 and Q2.

Part 2 – 5 documents – Application Form 2019, 2020 and Feedback 2019 to
2022.

Part 3 – 20 documents – Evidence 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
and 2.5

Part 4 – 18 documents – Evidence 2.6, 3.1, 3.4, 4.3-4.6, 5.2 and 8.2.

Please let us know if there are any issues in receiving these documents.

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-2208-1809495 in any future
communications.

Copyright:- NHS England operates under the terms of the open government
licence. Please see the NHS England Terms and conditions on the
following link [2]http://www.england.nhs.uk/terms-and-cond...

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:
 
[3]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

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, [4][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Strategy Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [5][NHS England request email]

show quoted sections