How do I request information?

Your request must be in writing and can be either posted or emailed to us.

For postal requests, write to:

Freedom of information team, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Head Office, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin, PL31 2QN

Call 01208 834 495

Email your freedom of information request

Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by the Trust.

The intention of the Act is to encourage a spirit of openness and transparency in the NHS. The Trust fully supports this aim.

The public has had full access rights since January 2005. This means that much more information is routinely and freely available. There are access rights to all types of information whether personal or non-personal. This is subject to some exemptions, which are outlined below.

Any individual or organisation can make a request for information. The Act also gives the right: to be told if information exists, to receive information (ideally in the format requested, for example as a copy or summary) or the applicant may ask to inspect a record.

The Trust has made its procedures for answering FOI and Environmental Information Regulations requests as similar as possible so it does not matter if you do not know if your request is under the FOI Act or Environmental Information Regulations.

Disclosure log

The disclosure logs provide access to responses to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.

The disclosure logs listed below contain all the freedom of Information requests that the Trust has received during each quarter.

2023

2022

2021

2020

Environmental Information Regulation requests

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 gives everyone the right to request environmental information held by public authorities.

This information may relate to the state of:

  • air
  • water
  • flora
  • fauna
  • health
  • soil
  • any natural site or other land, or any activities which do (or may) adversely affect the environment

Requests for environmental information are processed in a similar way to FOI requests. However, environmental information requests do not have to be submitted in writing. To make a verbal request, please call 01208 834 496.

As with FOI requests, environmental information requests should be answered within 20 working days. This can be extended in certain circumstances but we will need to inform you of this extension and the reason for it if this is the case.

Make a freedom of information request

Our duty to you

The Act requires us to:

  • provide information to you about the Trust through our publication scheme
  • provide a guide to this information
  • respond appropriately to requests for information

Before you request information from us

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 or expect to release and our disclosure log details all FOI requests we have received over the past 2 years and our responses. If you request information from us that is already published, we will simply refer you to the published source.

Who can request information?

Anyone, anywhere in the world, can make a FOI request to us.

What can I request?

You can seek any recorded information that you think we may hold.

If the information is environmental, we will respond according to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. You do not have to know whether the information you want is covered by the Environmental Information Regulations or the FOI Act. When you make a request, we will decide which law applies.

If the information is your own personal data, then you should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998, and not under the FOI Act. See below for how to make Data Protection Act requests.

What information must I include in my request?

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)
  • a description of the information you wish to obtain
  • any preferences for the format in which you wish to receive the information such as electronic or hard copy, we will endeavour to meet your preferences but cannot guarantee that we will be able to

What you do not need to do

  • explicitly mention the FOI Act, although it may help to do so
  • know whether the information is covered by the FOI Act or the EIR as we will decide this
  • say why you want the information
  • specify particular documents, you have a right to information, however it is recorded

How should I word my request?

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 you need:

Do:

  • clearly identify the information you want, if it is not clear what you are requesting, we may need to seek further clarification
  • be clear about date ranges or timescales
  • 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 3.5 days
  • ask questions such as “what” or “how much” as this is much more likely to result in a useful response
  • use straightforward, polite language

Do not:

  • 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 complaints or comments

What happens when my request is received?

The Trust has a legal obligation to reply to your FOI request and must do so within 20 working days of receipt.

We will do one of the following:

  • supply you with the information you requested
  • inform you that we do not hold the information and, if we are able, advise you who does
  • inform you that your request will exceed the cost limit specified in the Fees Regulations and invite you to submit a narrower request
  • inform you that we hold the information requested but refuse to provide all or part of it and explain why, citing one or more of the exemptions from the FOI Act
  • inform you that we are refusing your request on the basis it is repeated or vexatious
  • inform you that we need more time to consider the public interest test in relation to your request and let you know when to expect a further response, this should not be later than 40 working days after receipt of your request

What can I do if I am unhappy with my reply or how my request was handled?

You can ask us for an internal review of your FOI request. When you write to us requesting an internal review, we will acknowledge your letter and tell you how long we think the review will take. We aim to complete internal reviews within 20 working days, although cases that are complex may take longer. Where internal reviews go over 20 working days, we will keep you informed of progress.

If, after an internal review, you are still not satisfied you can then complain to the Information Commissioner. Details of how to do this are available at the Information Commissioner website.

Full details of how to ask for an internal review will be included in our initial reply to your FOI request. Details of how to complain further to the Information Commissioner will be included in our response to your internal review request.

How do I request information held about me?

The Data Protection Act allows you to find out what information we hold about you on computer and in some paper records. This is known as the right of subject access. We have provided leaflet with a further information around this process

All requests for access to your personal data held by us should be made by email. Email the Subject Access Request team.

Publication scheme

Our publication scheme gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by the Trust.

The intention of the Freedom of Information Act is to encourage a spirit of openness and transparency in the NHS. The Trust fully supports this aim.

The public has had full access rights since January 2005. This means that much more information is routinely and freely available. There are access rights to all types of information whether personal or non-personal. This is subject to some exemptions, which are outlined below.

Any individual or organisation can make a request for information. The Act also gives the right: to be told if information exists, to receive information (ideally in the format requested, for example as a copy or summary) or the applicant may ask to inspect a record.

Our publication scheme

The Trust publishes information about the organisation under the classes of information outlined above. This publication scheme has been adopted by the Trust without modification since 1 January 2009, based on the model scheme approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office and will be valid until further notice. This publication scheme commits the Trust to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities.

In addition to accessing the information identified in this publication scheme, you are entitled to request information about the Trust under the Freedom of Information Act (2000).