Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The complainant has made a series of requests for a variety of information. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s final position was that it wished to rely on section 14 to refuse one request and to rely on regulation 12(5)(b) – course of justice – and regulation 12(5)(e) – commercial confidentiality – of the EIR in order to withhold the remaining information. The Commissioner’s decision is that requests 1, 2 and 4 should have been dealt with under the EIR. However, having done so, the Trust was entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(b) of the EIR in the manner that it has done and the balance of the public interest favours withholding the information. The Trust was also entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR to withhold some, but not all of the information it initially withheld. The Commissioner finds that request 3 was vexatious and therefore the Trust was entitled to rely on section 14(1) of FOIA and Regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR to refuse it. Finally, for the reasons set out below, the Trust breached regulations 5(2) and 14 of the EIR as well as section 17(5) of FOIA in responding to the requests. The Commissioner requires the Trust to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation – if it has not already done so at the date of this notice: Disclose to the complainant, copies of the documents it identified to the Commissioner as documents 20, 22 and 23. The Trust may make the redactions to these documents that it has suggested to the Commissioner. Information Tribunal FTT EA/2022/0333 appeal dismissed.