The Northern Health and Social Care Trust endeavours to make information available to service users, staff and the public to help people understand what the Trust does and how it works.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) provides the public with a general right of access to information held by all public authorities, including health and social care organisations like the Northern Trust. It requires the Trust to make relevant business information accessible and makes it easier for you to get information about us without having to ask.
The Trust complies with this legislative requirement by making such information available on this website. This is known as the ‘Publication Scheme’ duty and includes information in respect of the Trust Board, Trust finances, corporate plans and strategies.
The Northern Trust is legally committed to providing timely and accessible information to the public and responding to reasonable requests for information. The Trust publishes responses to Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests under our ‘Disclosure Log’. Each disclosure listed will have a brief description of the request and a link to our response.
If there is information you require which is not available on our website, you may ask the Trust for it in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
How to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request
To make a request, contact the Information Governance Department. The Information Governance Department handles all Freedom of Information (FOI) enquiries for the Trust.
There are a number of ways that you submit an FOI request.
- Complete the FOI Online request form
- Apply by letter or email to the Information Governance Department
Before submitting your request, please review our FOI Disclosure Log, as the information may already be available.
What happens when we receive your FOI request?
On receipt of your written request, we may need to contact you to seek clarity on the information you are requesting. Please remember to provide your contact details so that we can reply to your request.
On receipt of your request, we have 20 working days to respond. Working days are Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.
There is currently no charge for a Freedom of Information request. However, there are some circumstances in which a fee will be applied. In such instances, the Trust will inform the applicant of any associated charges before supplying the information.
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)
Environmental information falls under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), rather than the FOIA.
The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 came fully into force on 1 January 2005, and it gives the public particular rights of access to environmental information held by the Trust.
How to make an Environmental Information (EIR) Request
There are a number of ways that you submit an EIR request.
- Complete the FOI Online request form
- Apply by letter or email to the Information Governance Department
Before submitting your request, please review our Disclosure Log, as the information may already be available.
What happens when we receive your EIR request?
On receipt of your written request, we may need to contact you to seek clarity on the information you are requesting. Please remember to provide your contact details so that we can reply to your request.
On receipt of your request, we have 20 working days to respond. Working days are Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.
There is currently no charge for an Environmental Information request. However, there are some circumstances in which a fee will be applied. In such instances, the Trust will inform the applicant of any associated charges before supplying the information.
How to contact us
Information Governance Department. 8E Coleraine Road, Ballymoney, BT53 6BP.
Media enquiries
If you are a member of the media and have an enquiry, please contact our Corporate Communications Team.