In multi-part requests, the complainant has requested information from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) about the external review process associated with its handling of service complaints. PHSO released some information, relied on section 21(1) of the FOIA (information accessible to the applicant by other means) with regard to aspects of the requests and confirmed it does not hold some of the requested information. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: PHSO correctly applied section 21(1) to some information it holds but incorrectly applied it to other information. PHSO breached section 1(1) and section 10(1) with regard to information it has now identified that falls within the scope of elements of request 1 and request 3 of 6 June 2018, and request 1a of 20 July 2018. On the balance of probabilities, PHSO holds no further relevant information and complied with section 1(1) with regard to the remaining parts of the complainant’s requests. The Commissioner requires PHSO to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: If it has not already done so, and if it is not exempt information, release to the complainant the further relevant information it has identified, which is discussed at paragraphs 38 and 42, with any personal data redacted as appropriate.
FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 21: Complaint partly upheld FOI 1: Complaint partly upheld
Citations:
[2019] UKICO fs50790769
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 22 November 2022; Ref: scu.638117