NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board

The complainant has requested information about the staff responsible for the Continuing Healthcare (‘CHC’) Service in Liverpool. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (‘the ICB’) provided some information on staffing but relied on section 40(2) of FOIA to withhold details of staff names, phone numbers and email addresses. In regards to the requested staff structure, the ICB stated that it does not currently hold this information but it intends to publish its new staff structure once agreed. The Commissioner’s decision is that the ICB was entitled to rely on section 40(2) to withhold the requested information relating to staff names and contact details. However, he also finds that, on the balance of probabilities, the ICB does hold information relating to the requested staff structure. The Commissioner requires ICB to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Carry out searches to determine if it holds a previous version of the CHC staff structure that would satisfy this part of the request, and issue a new response to the complainant.