Freedom of information

What is freedom of information?

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) gives the public the right to request any recorded information held by a public authority, including NHS Resolution. The purpose is to promote greater openness and accountability.

What the FOI Act covers

The FOI Act covers:

• A general right of access to information held by NHS Resolution, subject to certain conditions and exemptions.
• A duty on us to inform any person who requests information whether we hold the information, and to communicate that information to the applicant unless one or more exemptions apply.

The sort of information NHS Resolution holds on the website

• Claims Data: read our guidance on how Claims Data is held and please refer to the learning Codes used in our Claims management database.
• You can find ten years’ worth of claims data covering all NHS Resolution clinical schemes, via our webpage on annual statistics – NHS Resolution.
• Individual Trust Claims Data handled per financial year (including maternity claims data for individual trusts).
• We also publish a range of other factsheets that cover basic information, financial information, claims information, information on individual trusts assessment levels, information on individual trusts experience in latest financial year and information on the Primary Care Appeals service statistics.
• Transparency Spend – where we publish how much we spend with suppliers.
• Data and information on our Early notification scheme – NHS Resolution.
• Data and information on our Maternity incentive scheme – NHS Resolution.
• We publish up to three years’ worth of Primary Care Appeals decisions on appeals and disputes.
• Our Disclosure log, where we publish our responses to FOI requests.
• Publication Scheme – where we list the information publicly available or available on request.

Before you request information from NHS Resolution

Before you make a FOI request, we would recommend you considering the sort of information we hold (included above).

How do I request information held about me?

View more information on requesting information held about me.

What information must I include in my request?

The FOI Act requires certain information to be supplied before NHS Resolution can respond to your request:

• Your real name – we do not have to respond to requests submitted under a pseudonym;
• Your address (email addresses are acceptable);
• A description of the information you wish to obtain; and
• Any preferences for the format in which you wish to receive the information e.g. electronic or hard copy. We will endeavour to meet your preferences but cannot guarantee that we will be able to.

What happens when my request is received?

All public authorities have 20 working days to provide the information, subject to any exemptions. We pride ourselves on being an open organisation and will respond to all requests for information. While we will provide as much information as we can, due to the sensitivity of some of this information, the organisation has a duty of confidence to those making a claim. In line with FOI, this means that no information will be released which could lead to the identification of an individual. This is also in line with Data Protection requirements.

Our obligations

We are committed to openness and transparency and sharing of information where appropriate, whilst maintaining the confidentiality of personal sensitive information of patients and staff. We are also committed to working with the NHS and other interested parties to understand the information we hold and how it can be used to improve patient and staff safety.

Where possible, we will deal with requests for information informally and in the course of normal business. However, there will be circumstances in which either you or we consider that a request for information should be dealt with under the Freedom of Information legislation.

If your query has not been answered, having reviewed the documents referred to above, please use the form below. Please make sure you detail exactly what information you require. When you ask us for information, please try to be as clear as possible, and provide a time period the information should cover where relevant. This will help us understand your request and respond to you promptly. We might ask you for clarification if we are not sure what you are looking for.

Using AI to help write an FOI request

If you use AI to help prepare your Freedom of Information request, you may find the following prompt useful:

Help me turn this into a focused Freedom of Information request. First, check whether NHS Resolution has already published information relevant to what I am asking for, including on its main website, publications pages and in previously published Freedom of Information responses. Identify any published information that may answer all or part of my question, and summarise what it covers without inventing links, sources or findings. Then concentrate the request on any recorded information that is not already available, or on any specific gaps that remain. Remove general commentary, repetition, hypothetical questions and unnecessary arguments. Do not add new questions or broaden my request beyond what I have described. Where possible, make clear the relevant subject, dates or time period. Do not add legislation, case law or legal arguments unless they are genuinely necessary to explain what information I want. The final request should make it easy to understand exactly what recorded information I am asking for.

Tip: Before submitting your request, check whether the information you need is already available on our website, including our publications and previously published Freedom of Information responses. If the requested information has already been published, NHS Resolution will not provide it again and instead will direct you to where it has been published. We are only able to provide information that we hold – please refer to this page for more details.  If only part of your question is answered, ask specifically for the recorded information that is still missing.

Using AI to help request an internal review

If you are unhappy with our response to your information request, AI can help you structure the points you would like us to reconsider. However, you do not need to provide lengthy legal submissions or challenge every aspect of our response. You may find the following prompt useful:

Help me turn my concerns into a focused request for an internal review. Identify the particular parts of the organisation’s response that I disagree with and explain concisely why I think they should be reconsidered. Focus on the actual decisions made in my case. Do not generate generic arguments or objections simply because they might theoretically apply.

Structure my request around:
1. what the organisation decided;
2. what I disagree with and why; and
3. what I would like the internal review to reconsider.

Remove repetition and combine overlapping points. Do not invent facts, legislation, case law, ICO decisions or other legal authorities. Do not add additional grounds for review that I have not raised. If you are uncertain whether a legal reference is correct or relevant, leave it out. Keep the final request concise and focused on the issues that could make a difference to the review.

We will consider the points you raise on their merits. Using AI to prepare your request will not affect how it is handled.

Page last updated on: 23^rd October 2026