The complainant submitted a request to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) for a copy of the internal investigation into the death of a baby. The Trust initially withheld the information within the scope of the request, namely the original internal incident investigation, on the basis of section 22 (information intended for future publication) of FOIA. The Trust subsequently withdrew its reliance on this exemption during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation but did not formally cite any further exemptions. In the particular circumstances of this case the Commissioner took the decision to proactively consider section 41 (information provided in confidence) of FOIA in relation to this request and he has concluded that the vast majority of the withheld information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of this exemption. The only exception to this is one paragraph which, with the exception of the names of two staff members which have been withheld on the basis of section 40(2) of FOIA, the Trust has disclosed to complainant. The Commissioner has also concluded that the names of the staff members are exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 40(2).
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 40 – Complaint Not upheld, FOI 41 – Complaint Partly Upheld
Citations:
[2013] UKICO FS50460861
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.527847