East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

The complainant has requested information about NHS Trust governors. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (‘the Trust’) stated that it didn’t hold some of the requested information and relied on section 40(2) of FOIA (third party personal information) for information about the professional backgrounds and experience of current and former staff governors. It relied on section 21 of FOIA (information accessible by other means) to withhold the requested copies of meeting minutes. The Commissioner’s decision is that, on the balance of probabilities, the Trust does not hold the information requested in parts two and three of the request, but it likely does hold some information about the professional background and experience of some of its public governors. He finds that the Trust was entitled to rely on section 40(2) of FOIA to withhold the information about the professional backgrounds and experience of its current and former governors. He has proactively applied section 41 of FOIA (information provided in confidence) to the information of a deceased former staff governor. Finally, he finds that the Trust was not entitled to rely on section 21 of FOIA to withhold the minutes of more recent meetings but that it was entitled to rely on section 22(1) of FOIA (intended for future publication). The Commissioner does not require further steps.