Request

I therefore request evidence to support that all HR Business improvement advisors have all of the following qualifications as of October 2023 - to current date:

The HRSS role includes CIPD, Managing Successful Programmes Qualification, Lean Level 2 qualification in addition to the Six Sigma Green Belt qualification.

Response

I can confirm that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds the information you have requested. However, we consider the qualifications of NHSBSA employees to be personal data under section 3(2) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Personal data is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOIA if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles.

In order for disclosure to comply with the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle, we either need the consent of the data subject(s) or there must be a legitimate interest in disclosure. In addition, the disclosure must be necessary to meet the legitimate interest and finally, the disclosure must not cause unwarranted harm.

As we do not have the consent of the data subject(s), the NHSBSA is therefore required to conduct a balancing exercise between legitimate interest of the applicant in disclosure against the rights and freedoms of the data subject(s).

The NHSBSA acknowledges that you have a legitimate interest in disclosure of the information in order to provide the full picture of the requested data held by the NHSBSA; however, we have concluded that disclosure of the requested information would cause unwarranted harm and therefore, section 40(2) is engaged. This is because there is a reasonable expectation that employee personal data processed by the NHSBSA remains confidential.

Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full:

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