This site is intended for health professionals only


BMA reports NHS England to information commissioner

The BMA has reported NHS England to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after it failed to respond to a freedom of information request about ‘unallocated’ GP pension money.

Public authorities are required, under the FOI Act, to respond to such requests within 20 working days.

The BMA submitted its questions regarding the alleged unallocated GP pensions money on 2 March, meaning it should have received a reply before the end of last month.

The BMA’s request also sought information about the absence of any bank details on NHS England’s website for online transfers, as well as the number of complaints made against Primary Care Support England (PCSE).

Dr Krishna Kasaraneni, BMA GP Committee executive member, said: ‘We submitted our original request to NHS England to provide details on the scale of the service’s failings at the beginning of March and yet after repeated attempts to get answers they are yet to properly respond.

‘Organisations are obliged to provide answers within 20 working days, and after a frankly unacceptable wait of almost two months, we are left with no choice but to escalate this matter with the [ICO].’

He added that the BMA is ‘committed to providing GPs and practices with full details about the depth of the issues impacting general practice as a direct result of this woefully-run service” and that it would ‘continue to put pressure on NHS England to provide a solution’.