Freedom of Information

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Class 15. This Publication Scheme

We will publish revised versions of our Publication Scheme. It is anticipated that the electronic version of the scheme will be updated on a regular basis but paper copies will only be reproduced annually. This will be kept under review.

Cost of Information

Some information is available free, but for other there may be a charge. For the most part we will charge only for hard copies of information requested or copying onto media (e.g. CD ROM). The charges will vary according to how information is made available. Charges are as follows:

a) Via the Trust’s Web Site Free of charge, although any charges for Internet Service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual.

b) For those without Internet access, a single page print-out as on the website can be requested from the Publication Co-ordinator and sent by post.

c) For Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the following applies:

On receipt of a request, if it is estimated if it will take more than 18 man/woman hours this is deemed to be the "appropriate limit", for the purposes of section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act and has been set at:

£450 for public authorities, including the health service, plus an on cost in our Trust of £25 per hour for every hour over and above the 18 hours.

If a request is more complicated and likely to take longer to answer, the Trust will have to consider on a case by case basis if it wishes to estimate whether the appropriate limit would be exceeded in advance. It will have to make such an estimate if it wishes to refuse the request, or charge more, because the appropriate limit has been exceeded.

The Regulations set out what may be taken into account when the Trust is estimating whether the appropriate limit has been exceeded. The costs are limited to those that the Trust reasonably expects to incur in:

determining whether it holds the information requested,
locating the information or documents containing the information,
retrieving such information or documents, and
extracting the information from the document containing it (including editing or redacting information)

In certain situations, the costs of answering more than one request can be added together or aggregated for the purposes of estimating whether the appropriate limit would be exceeded in relation to any one of those requests.

If the estimate to locate, retrieve and extract the information requested is less than 18 man hours we may levy a charge for:

putting the information requested in the requestor’s preferred format e.g. CD rom
photocopying or printing the information*
postage

*The level of fee applicable for photocopying or printing the information is as below

Level 1.	up to reproducing 75 sheets of A4	Free of charge
Level 2.	between 75 – 150 sheets of A4	£15
Level 3.	between 150 – 250 sheets of A4	£25
Level 4.	between 250 – 500 sheets of A4	£40
Level 5	between 500 – 1000 sheets of A4	£80
Level 6.	between 1,000 – 1,500 sheets of A4	£125

Thereafter an additional charge of £35 for every 500, or part thereof, copies up to a maximum of £450 will be made, i.e. roughly equivalent to 4,500 copies.

It is important to note that if we propose to levy a fee in answering a request a fees notice will be issued to the requestor before any costs are incurred. On receipt of the necessary fee the information can be obtained and released. Cheques should be made payable to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and should initially be forwarded to the Trust Freedom of Information Lead. The period between the issuing of a fees notice to the receipt of the payment does not count as part of the 20 day requirement.

We will not provide printouts of other organisation’s websites.

d) Leaflets, brochures or booklets that we produce on, for example, services that we offer to the public, will be free of charge.

e) For “Glossy” or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD Rom, video or other mediums, there will be a charge. We will let you know the cost and charges that will have to be paid in advance.

f) E-mail free of charge unless it states otherwise

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

Copyright

The material available through this Publication Scheme is subject to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s copyright unless otherwise indicated. Unless expressly indicated on the material to the contrary it may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading manner. Where any of the copyright items in this Scheme are being re-published or copied to others, you must identify the source of the material and acknowledge the copyright status. Permission to reproduce material does not extend to any material accessed through the Publication Scheme that is the copyright of third parties. You must obtain authorisation to reproduce such material from the copyright holders concerned. For HMSO Guidance Notes on a range of copyright issues, see the HMSO web site: www.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm

or contact:

HMSO Licensing Division, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich, NR31BQ,
Tel: 01603 621000/ Fax: 01603 723000
Email: HMSO Licensing: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/about/licensing.htm