Request

Q1 In each financial year since 1st March 2017 to date, how many bereaved (including widowers, widows and civil partners ) eligible for ongoing support as affected people have died? Please show this as deaths per year. Q2 How many eligible affected people have died since 20th May 2024? Q3. How many have died since 23rd August 2024?

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached.

Fewer than 5

Please be aware that I have decided not to release details where the total number of beneficiaries falls below 5. This is because the beneficiaries could be identified, when combined with other information that may be in the public domain or reasonably available.

This information falls under the exemption in section 40 subsections 2 and 3A (a) of the Freedom of Information Act.

This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as:

a) it is not fair to disclose beneficiary personal details to the world and is likely to cause damage or distress.

b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40

Breach of Patient confidentiality

Please note that the identification of claimants is also a breach of the common law duty of confidence. A claimant who has been identified could make a claim against the NHSBSA for the disclosure of the confidential information.

The information requested is therefore being withheld as it falls under the exemption in section 41(1) ‘Information provided in confidence’ of the Freedom of Information Act. Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41

Publishing this response

Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02309