Please do not use the Freedom of Information process to request information about yourself. Information on how to request personal information about you, or information contained in your health records, can be found in our Data Subject Access Request policy.
Who does it apply to?
The Act applies to practically all public bodies in Scotland, including local authorities, the NHS, Colleges and Universities, the Police, the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive. The Act also applies to companies wholly owned by a public authority and, if designated, it may even apply to private companies carrying out a function for a pubic authority, for example under a contract. A full list of the organisations affected is set out in the Act and the Scottish Ministers can add further bodies.
How does Freedom of Information fit with other initiatives?
Even prior to the act coming into force, there were some rights to access information. Some rights continue to exist while others are superseded by the Act. Non-statutory codes that now provide access to information will cease to apply. The Access to Environmental Information Regulations 1992 will continue to apply. These give rights of access to environmental information. A request for environmental information does not have to be in writing and can be made orally. We have to respond to the request within 2 months, and may charge for this information.
How does Freedom of Information fit with Data Protection?
The Data Protection Act 2008 aims to secure individuals’ right to privacy by protecting information that is held about them. When handling personal data, we must comply with the data protection principles, which control how such data is processed. When FOI legislation comes into force a request by an individual for information about themselves will be exempt under Freedom of Information, and will continue to be handled under Data Protection.
Records management
Good records management practices will assist us with meeting our duties under the Act . If records are easy to locate, for example, then requests can be dealt with quickly. The NHS Fife Records Management Policy (GP4) provides guidance on the keeping, management and destruction of records, both paper based and electronic, and can be found on the NHS Fife staff intranet and NHS Fife website.
How is a request made?
- Anyone, anywhere can make a request for information and will be entitled to receive it, provided no exemptions apply.
- The request can be made by an individual or an organisation and does not have to be made by someone in Scotland.
- Authorities are only obliged to provide recorded information, such as reports, documents, printed notes and videos.
- Requests must can be;
- made in writing to the address below
- e-mailed to fife.foirequestfife@nhs.scot
- Requests must state the name and address of the applicant and describe what information is required.
- Authorities may charge a fee in accordance with Fee regulations.
- There is no need to cite the Act or explain why information is being asked for.
What will happen to your request?
The Information Governance team will respond to your request by:
- sending an acknowledgement of your request
- asking for you to provide further information, if required
- responding to you within 20 working days
How we handle requests
We are obliged to help anyone who proposes to make a request for information. All requests should be dealt with promptly and in any case within 20 working days. We can ask for more details in order to identify the information requested. We are not obliged to comply with a request if an exemption applies, or the cost of doing so would exceed the amounts set by the Fee Regulations, or we do not hold the information. In the event that a member of staff is approached for information and they are not sure how they should respond, they should refer the person to the Freedom of Information Officer.
What does it cost?
NHS Fife may charge for handling a request, however requests that would cost us up to £100 to deal with will not normally be charged for. There will be a maximum limit of £600, beyond which we are not obliged to provide information.
Can information always be accessed?
No, there are exemptions in the Scottish Act but most of these are not designed to be applied on a blanket basis. Two types of exemptions exist — absolute and non-absolute.
If an absolute exemption applies, we do not have to release the information eg. confidential material.
If a non-absolute exemption applies then we will have to apply a public interest test to establish whether the information should be released.
What happens if we do not provide information?
Unless the information is exempt, the Scottish Information Commissioner will enforce the Act. The Commissioner has a wide variety of powers under the Act to ensure compliance and we could be found in contempt of court if we fail to comply with a notice issued by the Commissioner. The Commissioner is a fully independent public official. His duties and legal powers should ensure that people ge the information from Scottish public authorities to which they are entitled.
The commissioner has a number of responsibilities that include: dealing with complaints, promoting good practice to authorities, informing the public about the Act and enforcing the Act. Although the Information Commissioner is primarily responsible for overseeing the Act, there are a small number of occasions when the courts may become involved. It is a criminal offence for anyone to destroy or erase information after a request has been received with such cases being dealt with in the Sheriff Court, and the offence carries a fine of up to £5000.
Further information
FOI requests, can be made to:
Freedom of Information Officer
eHealth Department
Lynebank Hospital
Halbeith Road
Dunfermline
KY11 8JH
Links
Scottish Government Website
Scottish Information Commissioner Website
Other pages in About us
