John Harrison v The Information Commissioner

John Harrison v The Information Commissioner

The Trust breached its obligations under s1(1) FOIA by failing to respond to the request for information relating to Acute Medicine and under s16(1) FOIA by failing to provide advice and assistance. The Information Commissioner's Decision Notice was not in accordance with the law as it did not address these breaches.

Parties
Appellant: John Harrison; Respondent: The Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 October 2024
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Public Authority Obligations, Advice and Assistance Duty
Information Rights Administrative Law Freedom of Information Public Authority Obligations Advice and Assistance Duty

Case Brief

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Parties

John Harrison

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Trust complied with its obligations under s1(1) and s16(1) FOIA in responding to the information request
  2. 2 Whether the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice was in accordance with the law

Ratio Decidendi

The Trust breached its obligations under s1(1) FOIA by failing to respond to the request for information relating to Acute Medicine and under s16(1) FOIA by failing to provide advice and assistance. The Information Commissioner's Decision Notice was not in accordance with the law as it did not address these breaches.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • The Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust must, by no later than 4.00 p.m. on 05 February 2024, send to the Appellant the number of serious incidents within Level 2 category (including 'Death' but not excluding any other incident which the Trust categorises as a serious incident) occurring within Accident and...
  • The Trust must send to the Appellant the number of de-escalation request reports in relation to any matter which the Trust categorises as a serious incident, which have been issued within Accident and Emergency and in Acute Medicine within the Trust in the calendar years 2015 to 2019 inclusive.