The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- Date 22 April 2022
- Sector Health
- Decision(s) FOI 21: Upheld, FOI 40: Partly upheld
The complainant has requested a copy of an internal report and the GMC numbers of specific clinicians. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust (‘the Trust’) withheld the report under section 40(2) (personal information) and the GMC numbers under section 21 (information reasonably accessible to applicant by other means) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows:
• The first three paragraphs of the report are the personal data of the complainant and are therefore exempt under section 40(1).
• Not all of the information within the report represents personal data and therefore cannot be withheld under section 40(2).
• Of the information that does engage section 40(2), disclosure would not be lawful.
• The Trust has incorrectly applied section 21 in relation to the GMC numbers.
The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation:
• Disclose a redacted copy of the report with all personal data removed. The Commissioner has provided a redacted copy of the report to the Trust only via a confidential annex.
• Issue a fresh refusal in response to the request for GMC numbers that does not rely upon section 21.