This guidance gives examples of the kinds of information that we would expect Community Health Councils to provide in order to meet their commitments under the model publication scheme. We would expect Community Health Councils to make the information in this definition document available unless:
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they do not hold the information;
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the information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
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the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,
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it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.
The guidance is not meant to give a definitive list. The legal commitment is to the model publication scheme, and authorities should look to provide as much information as possible on a routine basis.
Who we are and what we do
Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts.
We would expect information in this class to be current information only.
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How we fit into the NHS structure
Information on the statutory framework and role of the Community Health Council, which will include details of the NHS bodies that are monitored by the Community Health Council.
This will include details of key personnel.
Information on current membership of the council together with terms of appointment.
If possible, named contacts should be given in addition to contact phone numbers, email address and opening hours.
What we spend and how we spend it
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.
We would expect as a minimum that financial information for the current and previous financial year should be available. If an authority wishes to include financial information for earlier years this should be explained in any guidance provided by the authority itself.
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Annual statement of accounts
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Budget reports
In conjunction with annual accounts, financial information in sufficient detail to allow the public to see where money is being spent, where it is or has been planned to spend it, and the difference between one and the other.
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Staff and members’ allowances and expenses
Details of the allowances and expenses that can be claimed or incurred. The total of the allowances and expenses paid to or incurred by individual members of senior staff and council members produced in line with the authority’s policies.
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Staffing levels and pay bands
This may be provided as part of the organisational structure and should indicate, for most posts, levels of pay rather than individual salaries.
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Funding
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Procurement and tendering procedures
Details of procedures used for the acquisition of goods and services.
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Details of contracts currently being tendered
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List and value of contracts awarded and their value
We would expect normally that it should be necessary only to publish details of contracts that are of sufficient size to have gone through a formal tendering process
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Standing financial procedures
What are our priorities and how are we doing
Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.
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Annual Report
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Annual business plan
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Targets, Aims and Objectives
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Strategic Direction document (5 year plan)
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User surveys
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Audit reports
How we make decisions
Decision making processes and records of decisions.
We would expect information in this class to be available for at least the current and previous three years. If authorities can make information available for longer, this can be explained in any guidance produced by the authority itself.
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CHC meetings – agenda, supporting papers and minutes
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Sub-committee meetings – agenda, supporting papers and minutes
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CHC Federation meetings - agenda, supporting papers and minutes
It is accepted that information relating to the above meetings will exclude any material that is properly considered to be private.
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Patient and public involvement strategy
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Public consultations
Details of local and/or national consultation exercises with access to the consultation papers or information about where the papers can be obtained. The results, including copies of responses to, consultation exercises.
Our policies and procedures
Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.
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Policies and procedures relating to human resources (including Race, Disability, Age and Gender, recruitment and employment)
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Welsh Language Scheme produced in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993
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Members code of conduct
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Standing orders
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Complaints and other customer service policies and procedures
Standards for providing services to the authority’s customers, including the complaint procedure. Complaints procedures will include those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme.
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Data protection / information governance / Caldicott Guardian
This will include information security policies, records retention, destruction and archive policies, data protection (including data sharing) and patient confidentiality policies.
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Estates management
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Patient advice and liaison
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Charging regimes & policies
Details of any statutory charging regimes should be provided. Charging policies should include charges made for information routinely published and clearly state what costs are to be recovered together with the basis on which they are made and how they are calculated.
List and registers
We expect this to be information contained only in currently maintained lists and registers.
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Any information we are currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers
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List of main contractors / suppliers
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Assets register and Information Asset Register
We would not expect authorities to publish all details from all asset registers. We would expect some information from capital asset registers to be available.
If the authority has prepared an information asset register for the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005, it should publish the contents.
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Register of members’ interests
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Disclosure log
Where a disclosure log is produced indicating the information that has been provided in response to requests it should be readily available. Disclosure logs themselves are recommended as good practice.
The services we offer
Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters.
In general, this will be an expansion of the first class of information, ‘Who we are and what we do’ as it will detail the services that the authority provides. The starting point would normally be a list or lists of the services that fall within the responsibility of the authority, linked to details of those services.
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Communications & media releases
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Services for which the authority is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees
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Patient information leaflets
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Hospital monitoring
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Local complaints advocacy
Version 2
23 October 2008
View this page as a PDF document
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