Information Commissioner's Office

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

14 June 2007, Health (NHS)

The complainant requested information about the Local Awards Committee, in relation to an application he had made for a Clinical Excellence Award. By way of background, the Local Awards Committee assesses applications for these awards, and the members of the Committee score each of the candidates. The complainant specifically requested the identities of the Committee members in relation to the specific scores he had been awarded. The public authority provided a breakdown of the scores he had received. However it refused to identify which members had awarded which score, and cited the exemption at section 36(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, stating that the disclosure would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs. The public authority then went on to state that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure. After considering the case the Commissioner decided that the requested information was exempt under section 36(2)(c). The Commissioner does not therefore require the public authority to take any further steps in relation to the complainant’s request.

FOI 17: Upheld