Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The complainant requested from Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (“the Trust”) the minutes from various committee meetings. The Trust disclosed the requested committee meeting minutes but withheld some information contained within the minutes citing section 40(2) (personal information) and section 43(2) (commercial interests) of the FOIA as its basis for doing so.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Trust is not entitled to rely on section 40(2) to withhold any information. He finds that the Trust is entitled to rely on section 43(2) to withhold some information contained within the requested meeting minutes. However, some of the withheld information does not engage section 43(2).
The Commissioner requires the Trust to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
The Trust must disclose the information withheld under section 40(2) of the FOIA. It must also disclose the information withheld under section 43(2) detailed within the annex below.
The Trust must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the FOIA and may be dealt with as a contempt of court. Information Tribunal FTT EA/2023/0270 under appeal.