Liverpool University Hospitals is only permitted to charge for the supply of information in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
The cost limit imposed by legislation is £450 for NHS organisations which is charged at £25 per person per hour (regardless of who does the work), which equates to 18 working hours.
If the information can be retrieved/collated within this limit, there will be no charge applied to the request.
This limit does not include the time taken to decide whether exemptions apply, to redact exempt information or to carry out the public interest test. However, if the resources required to review and remove any exempt information is likely to be so great as to place the Trust under a grossly obsessive burden then it may be possible to consider the request under Section 14 of the FOI Act instead.
The Trust has a duty to work with applicants to keep compliance costs to a minimum so will advise the applicant what information the Trust would be able to provide free of charge.
Where a fee is to be charged, notice will be given within the 20 working days of the request.
If payment is not received within three calendar months of issuing the fees notice the request will be closed, if the applicant still wishes to receive the information then a new request would have to be submitted.