Freedom of Information requests
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) gives the public a general right of access to all types of recorded non-personal information held by public authorities, including the NHS.
The Act sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. We action all requests in accordance with the FOI Code of Practice.
See the FAQs below for more details.
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Under the Freedom of Information Act you can request any non-personal recorded information that you think we may hold.
If the information is your own personal data, then you should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 2018, and not under the FOI Act.
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Check whether the information you seek is already available. We publish information on this website and you may well find the answer to your question is already here. We have a publication scheme setting out what information we currently release.
If you request information from us that is already published, we will refer you to the published source.
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The FOI Act requires certain information to be supplied before we can respond to your request:
- your real name – we do not have to respond to requests submitted under a pseudonym;
- your address (email addresses are acceptable); and
- a description of the information you wish to obtain.
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Comprehensive guidance on submitting effective requests for information is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office. However, to frame an effective request for the information please:
Do:
- Clearly identify the information you want. Be clear about date ranges or timescales. If it is not clear what you are requesting, we may need to seek further clarification.
- Be as specific as possible. If your request is too general, it may be refused on the grounds that replying would exceed the cost limit laid down in the Fees Regulations, which is equivalent to one person working for 18 hours. If this happens, we will ask you to re-submit a narrower, more specific request which could be met within the cost limits and give you advice and assistance to do so.
- Ask questions such as “what or “how much as this is much more likely to result in a useful response.
- Use straightforward, polite language.
Don’t:
- Use open-ended questions such as ‘why’? We do not have to answer your question if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion or judgment that is not already recorded.
- Base your request on assumptions or opinions.
- Mix your request with a complaint or comment.
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To make a Freedom of Information request, please email your request to foi.requests@bdct.nhs.uk
Alternatively, you can send your request to:
Information Governance team
Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust Archives
Unit 1
Four Lane Business Park
Cemetery Road
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD8 9RY -
There is normally no charge for information sent under the FOI Act. If the request takes longer than 18 hours to collect the information, then we are entitled to ask for a payment. However, we would never do this before sending out the information.
If we believe the request will take over 18 hours to collate, we will discuss this with you and how to reduce the request or refine the search.
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Unless otherwise requested, we will email the response to the email address provided.
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Yes, once received, the response can be shared or used in any way.