Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The complainant has requested information from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) concerning its policies, processes and complaints. The Trust did not provide a response to the complainant until the Commissioner intervened. When the Trust did respond, it disclosed most of the requested information but refused to provide the remainder under section 12 FOIA (cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit). The Commissioner’s decision is that, on the balance of probability, the Trust has now provided all the information it holds (apart from what was withheld under section 12 FOIA) to the complainant and has complied with section 1 FOIA. However, it did so beyond the legislative timeframe and therefore breached section 10 FOIA. The Commissioner has also decided that the Trust breached section 17(1) FOIA by not issuing a valid refusal notice within the appropriate timescale. The Commissioner finds that the Trust has cited section 12 appropriately, though late in the day, but failed to provide advice and assistance to the complainant and therefore breached section 16(1). Therefore the Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any further steps.