The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives rights of public access to recorded information held by public authorities. The FOIA is intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability among public sector bodies, and therefore facilitate a better understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties; make decisions and spend public money.

One way in which the Freedom of Information Act 2000 achieves this is by requiring public authorities to make information about itself and its activities routinely available to the public. The purpose of this guide is to describe the information that Healthwatch Norfolk makes routinely available and how to find it.

Healthwatch Norfolk has adopted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ‘Model Publication Scheme’. Under the scheme, Healthwatch Norfolk is committed to:

• Proactively publish, or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information that falls within the ‘classes of information’ listed below
• Specify the information that it holds, and which falls within those ‘classes of information’
• Publish guidance on how this information is made available, so that it can be easily identified and accessed by members of the public
• Review and update, on a regular basis, the types of information it makes available
• Publish information on any fees that may be charged for this information, and
• Make this publication scheme available to the public

Publication of Information

Healthwatch Norfolk uses its website – www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk as the principal means of disseminating information about itself and its activities. In most cases, this information can be located using the ‘search’ facility on the site. A guide to the ‘classes of information’ that we routinely publish is included below.

Information falling into the categories below will not, generally, be made routinely available:

• Information in draft form
• Information which would be impractical or resource intensive to prepare for routine release
• Information which is no longer readily available because it is archived or its retrieval would be difficult, impractical or resource intensive to prepare for routine release
• Information whose release is prohibited by law, or exempt under the FOIA or is otherwise considered to be protected from disclosure.

Making a request under the Freedom of Information Act (2000)

If the information you need is not in the publication scheme you can also contact us to request information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Please email your requests to: [email protected]

You can also write to the Deputy Chief Executive, Healthwatch Norfolk, Suite 6, The Old Dairy, Elm Farm, Norwich Common, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 0SW.

We will usually respond to your request within 20 working days following receipt of your request, however this deadline may be extended if we need to seek clarification of your request from you, or if (in very rare circumstances) we need to consider complex issues of public interest in deciding whether to provide certain information. We will tell you if we need to extend the deadline and will explain the reason why.

Some information might be exempt from disclosure under the FOIA; however we will usually tell you if we are withholding information. We will also explain why we feel that it is appropriate to apply the exemption. In some cases, the FOIA allows us to refuse to confirm or deny holding certain information. For example, we can use exemptions under FOI to refuse to disclose confidential personal information, or to refuse to make disclosures that would make it difficult for us to carry out our regulatory role.

We may need to consult with other people or organisations before providing you with requested information. This usually happens where you have requested information that was provided to Healthwatch Norfolk by another organisation.

Unhappy with our response?

If you are unhappy with the response you received from us relating to your FOIA request please let us know, giving your reasons. We will respond to you in writing.

If you remain dissatisfied following your appeal, you can contact the Information Commissioner at the address below:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 745

We routinely publish information within the following classifications:

1. Who we are and what we do

Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts are available in the about us section of our website.

2. What we spend and how we spend it

Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit

Financial statements:

We publish annual financial statements in our Annual Reports together with quarterly finance reports in our Board papers available at: https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/reports

Strategies and plans, performance indicators and reviews

Corporate plans and business plan:

Healthwatch Norfolk strategy and business plan are published at: https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/about-us/priorities/

Service standards are contained in our Customer Service Policy:
List of policies and procedures

Progress reports and statistics are contained within our quarterly Board papers and published reports: https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/reports

4. How we make decisions

Our decision making policy and associated procedures outline the steps taken to ensure decisions are evidence based and lead to substantive impact in the community. You can read our decision making policy here. Our decision making process is also included in minutes of meetings, (including reports and papers)

Minutes, reports and papers for all public Healthwatch Norfolk Board meetings (including reports from Board Sub Groups) are published on our reports webpage.

Terms of reference for all sub groups of the local Healthwatch Norfolk Board are available on request by email via [email protected]

We publish information about our public consultations at: https://healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/get-involved/ and https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/news

5. Our policies and procedures

Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities:

• List of policies and procedures

6. Lists and registers

Information we are currently required to hold in publicly available registers are here: https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/about-us/our-team

Details of our Trustees are also kept at Companies House and the Charity Commission.

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission

7. The services we offer

Information about services we offer are available at: https://www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/about-us

Keeping this Publication Scheme up to date

The Commission’s Information Rights Manager is responsible for ensuring that this Publication Scheme and Information Guide are kept up to date.

The Publication Scheme will be reviewed annually, or whenever there is a significant change to the way we work, the types of information we publish, or the way in which we make that information available.