The
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) was passed on 30 November 2000.
The Act gave a general right of access to recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and placed a number of obligations on public authorities.
Our duties under FOIA
The National Patient Safety Agency, and divisions, has two main duties under the Act. We must have a FOI
Publication Scheme and we must also deal with individual requests.
You can find more information about freedom of information on the
Information Commissioner’s Office website.
Making a request
If you are considering making a FOIA request you should first refer to our
Publication Scheme first, as it is not necessary to make a FOIA request for information that is listed on the Schedule.
FOIA requests must:
• be in writing (if via email, send to
foi@npsa.nhs.uk;
• state the name of the applicant;
• state an address for correspondence; and
• describe the information requested.
More information about how we handle FOI requests is in our user guide:
•
FOI User Guide: procedure for handling FOI requests (Doc 259KB)
How we respond
We must respond to FOIA requests within 20 working days. The 20-working-day clock starts on the next working day after we receive your request.
NPSA Information Log
The NPSA Information Log sets out copies of our responses to information requests received, such as FOI requests and Parliamentary Questions from Members of both Houses of Parliament. The log can be viewed at the following link: NPSA Information Log
Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we have handled an FOIA request, you should address this to either:
For complaints relating to Patient Safety and Corporate divisions:
Head of Government Affairs
National Patient Safety Agency
4-8 Maple Street
London, W1T 5HD
tel: 020 7927 7895
For complaints relating to NCAS:
Head of Legal Services
National Clinical Assessment Service
Area 1C, Skipton House, 80 London Road, London SE1 6LH
tel: 020 7927 9649
