Freedom of Information Policy

Portsmouth CCG’s FoI service is managed by Portsmouth City Council.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) gives anyone the right to ask for any information held by a public authority, which includes Portsmouth Clinical Commissioning Group. The information must be in a recorded form, so can include:

• documents
• minutes of meetings
• e-mails
• handwritten notes
• videos
• letters
• audio recordings.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and legislation.gov.uk sites feature detailed information on the Freedom of Information act – please follow the links below for more.

• A summary of the Freedom of Information act (or read the FoI act in full)
• Exemptions summary for Freedom of Information

Portsmouth CCG been committed to openness – it increases public confidence in our ability to serve the community and lead the city. We want to show that we are an open organisation committed to delivering the best possible public services. You can get information by:

• Searching our FoI publication scheme for a wide range of information
• Submit a request for information under FoI, if you can’t find what you’re looking for in our Publication Scheme or website
• Ask to re-use any information you are provided with under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations.

Portsmouth CCG’s Freedom of Information policy ensures that we will:

• comply with the FoI Act and sees it as an opportunity to enhance public trust and confidence in the CCG
• maintain a comprehensive ‘Publication Scheme’ that provides information which is readily accessible without the need for a formal FoI request
• seek to satisfy all FoI requests promptly and within 20 working days. However, if necessary we will extend this timescale to give full consideration to a Public Interest test. If we do not expect to meet the deadline, we will inform the requester as soon as possible of the reasons for the delay and when we expect to have made a decision
• continue to protect the personal data entrusted to us, by disclosing it only in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018
• provide advice and assistance to requesters to facilitate their use of FoI. We will publish our procedures and assist requesters to clarify their requests so that they can obtain the information they require
• work with partners and contractors to ensure that we can meet our FoI obligations, including the disclosure of any information that they hold on our behalf
• apply the exemptions provided in the FoI Act and, where qualified exemptions exist, disclose the information unless the balance of public interest lies in withholding it
• consult with third parties before disclosing information that could affect their rights and interests. However, according to the FoI Act, we must take the final decision on disclosure
• charge for information requests in line with the FoI Fees Regulations or other applicable regulations, including the Data Protection Act 2018
• record all FoI requests and our responses and will monitor our performance in handling requests and complaints
• adopt good information and record management practices in line with the Lord Chancellor’s “Code of Practice on The Management of Records under section 46 of the FoI Act”
• ensure that all permanent and contract staff are aware of their obligations under FoI, and will include FoI education in the induction of all new staff

There may be appropriate and legal reasons why we are unable to provide the information you request. These are called exemptions are can be found in the FoI Act. The CCG may not be able to release information relating to its business if any of
these exemptions apply and in some circumstances, can refuse to confirm or deny whether we hold the information.

Freedom of Information (FoI) requests can be made by writing to the council’s Corporate Information Governance Officer at the address below.

Please check our Publication Scheme first as the information you require may already be available. If the information is not available, please contact us by email or post with:

• your name and address for correspondence
• the information you require

To comply with FoI, we will respond to requests within 20 working days (subject to exemptions). Where a fee is required, you will be advised and you must pay before the request is processed. If the fee is not paid within three months, the request will be considered lapsed.

Where requests are repeated or considered an intentional annoyance, the CCG will be under no obligation to disclose the information requested.

FoI requests

We will charge for FoI requests in line with the national FoI fees regulations. If the cost of finding and retrieving the information does not exceed £450 (equivalent to 18 hours work) there will be no charge, other than for disbursements.

If the cost exceeds £450 we will charge for all the hours at a rate of £25 per hour or decline the request – alternatively, we will assist the requester in refining the request to within 18 hours to ensure no charge will be incurred.

Disbursement costs are free up to £5 – above this, we will charge the full amount, including the initial £5. Where a fee is involved, we will issue a fees notice requesting payment – the request will not progress until the fees have been paid. The 20 working-day target for responding to requests will not begin until the fees are paid.

Fees where other legislation applies

Where existing legislation applies to an information access request (such as the Town and Country Planning Act) the legislator’s own charging regulation will apply.

Disbursements
Disbursements are costs associated with the provision of information in an applicants preferred format. Disbursements include postage costs.

Portsmouth City CCG may disburse information by printing, photocopying, or copying to a CD-ROM, video or audio tape. If translation of content (requested under the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act or Environmental Information Regulations) into another language is required, please contact the Data Protection Officer by email to DataProtection@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or telephone 02392688482.

You can appeal against an FoI decision made by the CCG, or complain about the way we handled an FoI request or other FoI matter by following the procedures listed below, which are in line with the CCG’s corporate complaints process.

Whether you are appealing against a decision or making a complaint about our services or staff, we promise to:

• take it seriously
• treat you with courtesy
• investigate fully and promptly
• resolve your problem as best we can
• respect your right to take your complaint further if you’re not satisfied

Step one
Your first step for appealing or complaining is to contact us using the following details.

Please email us at CCGFOI@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or write to us at the following address:

CCG FoI
Corporate Information Governance Officer,
Customer, Community & Democratic service,
Portsmouth City CCG,
Civic offices,
Portsmouth, PO1 2AL

The CCG will review the decision. If the original decision is upheld then you can forward your grievance to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Telephone 0303 123 1113 or write to them at the following address:

Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 implement an EU directive that encourages the re-use of public information for purposes other than its original purpose. The aim is to stimulate the European information industry and enable companies to use our information for commercial purposes.

The regulations do not oblige public bodies to make their information available for re-use unless there is a statutory obligation to do so. They do oblige public bodies to:

• publish a list of the main documents which can be re-used
• publish any standard conditions associated with re-use
• publish any standard charges associated with re-use
• operate a request procedure
• operate a complaints/appeals procedure.

The regulations apply to any recorded information (as defined for FoI), including whole documents or parts of documents. There are some exemptions to the regulations, including educational or cultural establishments, intellectual property that rests with a third party, and information that is exempt under FoI, Data Protection and other legislation.

Requests should be in writing but, unlike FoI, they must state the reason for the re-use. The CCG must respond to requests and complaints within 20 working days, unless the request is very complex or volumes are large.

Complaints procedures must include escalation to the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) and ultimately to the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information.

The regulations encourage public bodies to make the maximum use of electronic means in implementing them. For more detailed information and guidance visit the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website.

How to request to re-use information
To apply to re-use information, you should:

• submit the request in writing – including by email
• state your name and address
• specify which documents or pieces of information you wish to re-use
• state the purpose for which the document or information is to be re-used

Please send the request to the CCG’s Corporate Information Governance Officer at
the address above.

Making a decision
We will deal with your request as quickly as we can and will provide a full response
within 20 working days. If we are unable to respond within 20 working days, we will
contact you as soon as possible explaining why.

In some cases we will only permit re-use under a set of conditions know as a licence.
Where this is the case, we will inform you of the licence conditions and whether there
is a charge for the licence.

Appeals and complaints
If we refuse a request to re-use information, we will write to you and include:

• the reasons for refusal
• an explanation of our complaints and appeals procedure
• the identity of any third party, if known, which owns copyright and/or
  intellectual property rights which led to the refusal

Should you wish to appeal against our decision or make a complaint about the way
your request was handled, please write to the CCG’s Corporate Information
Governance Officer at the address (as above). If, having heard the outcome of your
complaint or appeal, you are still dissatisfied, you can refer your case to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (as above).

3. Thinking about each group below, does, or could the policy, service, function, project or strategy have a negative impact on members of the equality groups below?