Information Rights Tribunal releases decision notice on NHS transition risk register

Information Rights Tribunal releases decision notice on NHS transition risk register

After hearing the case on 5-6 March, on 9 March the Tribunal dismissed the Department of Health’s appeal against the Information Commissioner’s ruling requiring publication of the NHS Transition Risk Register for its NHS reorganisation and the NHS Strategic Risk Register.

After hearing the case on 5-6 March, on 9 March the Tribunal dismissed the Department of Health’s appeal against the Information Commissioner’s ruling requiring publication of the NHS Transition Risk Register for its NHS reorganisation and the NHS Strategic Risk Register.

The Information Commissioner’s judgements follow FoI requests made by John Healey MP in November 2010 and the Evening Standard in February 2011, respectively.

Today the Tribunal released itsfull decision and reasons.

Mr Healey said:

“This legal judgement explains why the public have the right to know the risks the Government is running with our NHS and how ministers are managing them.”

“The Governmemt has lost twice in law trying to keep the NHS risk register secret and ministers must now release it, as the court says they should have done 16 months ago.”

What was the Health Bill is now law but the risks of the Government’s huge NHS reorganisation remain.

“The Government used its big guns to defend its refusal to publish the risk register and this legal judgement demolishes their case for secrecy. However long the government fight to delay release, this court case will become an FoI landmark and in the long run Ministers will have to disclose more risk details on major policy changes to the public and Parliament.”

The Information Rights Tribunal is a special court that sits to hear Freedom of Information appeal cases.

John was Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary from October 2010 – October 2011; he is Labour MP for Wentworth & Dearne in South Yorkshire.

The tribunal’s decision notice is available here:
http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i729/2012_04_05;%20DOH%20v%20IC%20%20Healey%20final%20decision.pdf