NHS Forth Valley sees FOI probe downgraded as watchdog hails “improvement”

The health board was put under a Level 3 intervention in October last year after a failure to improve on a poor record of replying to Freedom of Information requests.

A probe into NHS Forth Valley’s handling of Freedom of Information requests has been closed after the watchdog in charge praised the health board’s “significant improvement” on the issue.

The health board was put into a Level 3 intervention by the Scottish Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, after initial complaints made in November 2023 where it was found not to have replied to 51 per cent of requests within the timeframe of 20 days.

The intervention was escalated in October last year after those performance issues weren’t improved and a meeting was then arranged in March where the lack of progress was raised – and extra time given to make improvements.

Any further lack of progress on the issue would have prompted a possible action being launched at the Court of Session. But the turnaround was confirmed by Mr Hamilton’s office in a statement on Thursday morning, which said the Level 3 intervention had now been removed.

Mr Hamilton said: “My intervention with NHS Forth Valley was escalated to Level 3 following a prolonged period of poor performance.

“NHS Forth Valley was responding to fewer than 30 per cent of all FOI requests and less than 20 per cent of all FOI reviews within the 20 working day statutory timeframe.

“Through a combination of positive collaboration with my office, investment in resource, heightened prominence of FOI throughout the organisation alongside the hard work and dedication of the NHS Forth Valley’s Information Governance Team, the latest monthly figures show NHS Forth Valley responding to 94 per cent of all requests – and 100 per cent of FOI reviews – on time.

“This significant improvement not only demonstrates a commitment to statutory compliance, but also a sustainable cultural shift towards a more transparent organisation.”

The move was met with delight by NHS Forth Valley chief executive Ross McGuffie, who said: “We welcome the closure of this intervention, and it reflects the hard work and commitment of staff across the organisation over the last few months to improve our FOI performance.”