Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant made a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the -�Act-�) to NHS South East Coast (-�NHSSEC-�) on 4 June 2007, 5 July 2007, 12 July 2007 and again made the same request on 3 September 2007, for legal advice provided by a firm of solicitors to the NHSSEC relating to the disclosure of patient medical records which was used by the NHSSEC to formulate a document called -�Principles For The Sharing Of Patient Records-�. NHSSEC refused to disclose the information it held relevant to the scope of the request as it stated that it was exempt from disclosure under section 42(1) of the Act. The Commissioner considers that the NHSSEC correctly applied the section 42(1) exemption in this case. The Commissioner does however consider that the NHSSEC breached section 10(1) in its handling of the complainant-�s request as it failed to comply with its obligations under section 1(1)(a) within the statutory time for compliance. Finally the Commissioner considers that the NHSSEC breached section 17(3) of the Act in its handling of the request. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2009/0053 withdrawn.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 42 - Complaint Not upheld