The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 was implemented from 1 January 2005 and gives people the right to access information held by the Trust. Barts and The London NHS Trust has produced a Publication Scheme, which is a guide to information routinely published by the Trust. It is a description of the information about our Trust which we make publicly available.

Barts and The London NHS Trust Publication Scheme is based on the Health Bodies (England). The model publication scheme, produced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This model and other guidance can be found on their website - http://www.ico.gov.uk

The Publication Scheme is divided into 7 high level classes of information. We are not required to make information routinely available when:

• the information is not held;
• the information is exempt from disclosure under legislation (such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Data Protection Act 1998), e.g. personal data or information that is commercially sensitive; or
• the Trust cannot easily access the information.

Our publication scheme states the information that is accessible, its format (mostly via the Trust website), and any charge that may be made for providing the information. Please note that this does not cover FOI requests, which are answered within 20 working days of receiving the request.

The Barts and The London NHS Trust Publication Scheme will be reviewed on an annual basis. Certain elements may be updated throughout the year where practical and possible.

If you require a hard copy or larger text version of this Publication Scheme, please contact FOI@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk or by post via

Freedom of Information
c/o Archives and Records Centre
Barts and The London NHS Trust
Lower ground floor
9 Prescot Street
Aldgate
London E1 8PR

Barts and The London NHS Trust Publication Scheme last updated: March 2011

Charges for information listed in the Publication Scheme

Most of the information listed in the Publication Scheme will be provided at no charge, such as information on the Trust website; this is clearly stated in the Scheme. The Trust may make a charge for photocopies/print-outs of documents, copies on formats such as CD-ROM / disks and postage. You will be informed of the exact charge before the information is provided. We will require payment before providing the information.

Complaints about the Publication Scheme

If you have any complaints about the Barts and The London NHS Trust Publication Scheme, these should be addressed to:

Information Governance Manager
Barts and The London NHS Trust
First floor
9 Prescot Street
London
E1 8PR

Email: FOI@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk

Contents of the Publication Scheme

A. Who we are and what we do
B. What we spend and how we spend it
C. What are our priorities and how are we doing?
D. How we make decisions
E. Our policies and procedures
F. Lists and registers
G. The services we offer

You can also download a PDF version of the complete Publication Scheme here.

Download FOI Publication Scheme 2011.

Trust core policies and guidance

To find out more about our policies and guidelines including information on what our policies are, please download the handbook below.

Download Trust core policy handbook