The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”) provides a right of access to a wide range of information held by public authorities. It gives you the right to know about us, what we do, how our services are run and how you can get hold of that information if you need to.
Our duty to you
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 requires us to:
- Provide information to you about SCCL through a publication scheme.
- Provide a guide to this information.
- Respond appropriately to requests for information.
Disclosures are subject to the application of relevant exemptions contained within the Act. Anyone can request information recorded and held by us, and by law we must respond to the requests. There are some exemptions, which are managed according to the Freedom of Information Act Code of Practice and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Before making a request
Check whether the information you seek is already available by searching our previous requests to see if the information has already been requested. If the information you need is not held on this website, it may be found on the NHS Supply Chain website.
If you are unable to find the information you are looking for you are welcome to send us a request for information under the FOI Act (2000).
Who can request information?
Anyone, anywhere in the world, can make an FOI request to SCCL.
Making a request
FOI requests must be made in writing via email or post.
Postal
Supply Chain Coordination Limited, FOI team, Equinox House, City Link, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 4LA.
Please clearly mark all such requests as urgent and in the subject line write “Freedom of Information Request”, providing as much detail as possible about the information you require.
How we respond to requests
Your request will be acknowledged and then responded to in full within 20 working days of the date of receipt. We will however try to respond as quickly as possible. Sometimes some or all the information cannot be provided. If this is the case, we will explain the reasons why.
Please note, we may charge for access to certain information, or information in a certain format. Details of any charges are contained next to the appropriate class of information as outlines in the Freedom of Information Fee Regulations.
Exemptions
SCCL aims to be as open as possible. Information may be withheld from any of the classes of information listed below where we consider that the disclosure may fall within one of the exemptions contained in the Act.
For example, we may withhold information if its disclosure would:
- present an actionable breach of confidentiality.
- in the case of commercially sensitive information, be other than in the public interest.
- be contrary to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
If you’re not satisfied with our reply
If you are not happy with how your FOI request has been handled and our response, then you may wish to request an independent internal review of your request and our response, by submitting a request for an internal review via email to FOI@supplychain.nhs.uk.
If you do ask for an internal review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response. We aim to complete internal review within 20 working days, although with cases that are more complex this may take longer. Where internal reviews go over 20 working days, we will aim to keep you informed of its progress.
If, after an internal review, you are still not satisfied you have the right, under section 50 of the Act, to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner (ICO). Details of how to do this are available on the ICO website.
Full details of how to ask SCCL for an internal review will be included in our initial FOI response letter. Details of how to complain further to the Information Commissioner will be included in our internal review response letter.