Request

The following request for information relates to information pertaining to applications for HC2 certificates only.

Application Process.

Please provide copies of:

All internal guides, procedure notes, flow charts, policies, operating standards etc whether electronic or hard copy that are provided/used by your officers during the full application process for people applying for this certificate, help with dental costs;

Copies of standards of performance while dealing with this application, including expected timeframe for completing applications;

Any instructions/guidance issued to staff instructing that the process is slowed down (from receipt of application to approval/denial) or changes to the specification for applications;

Number of Applications. 

Date  range from April 2023 to current:

Number of applications for this certificate, broken down month by month if possible, if not per quarter.  If this is collated by gender, ethnic background etc, please provide this also.

Number of applications declined  or refused for the above, to include reasons if these are collated/summarised.

Number of complaints/appeals received relating to this certificate application process, broken down by month or quarter.

Of the complaints/appeals received, the number where the decision was made to issue a certificate after the complaint/appeal was made.

Performance Metrics.

Date range from April 2023 to current:

Copies of all performance/activity reports covering this certificate.

A list of the committee's these reports are prepared for or discussed in.

Copies of the minutes for the committee's pertaining to the reports discussion summary/actions/comments etc.  Please note I do not require the full sets of minutes, just the section/parts relating to HC2's.

Copies of any other reports produced relating to this area.

Response

Question 1

Application Process.

Please provide copies of:

All internal guides, procedure notes, flow charts, policies, operating standards etc whether electronic or hard copy that are provided/used by your officers during the full application process for people applying for this certificate, help with dental costs;

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

The Claims Assessment Manual is the guidance used by colleagues. We do not have additional documents or guides.

Copies of standards of performance while dealing with this application, including expected timeframe for completing applications;

Our service level agreement for processing an HC1 application is 18 working days, although this may be extended if we receive an incomplete application and have to return to the applicant for further information. 

Any instructions/guidance issued to staff instructing that the process is slowed down (from receipt of application to approval/denial) or changes to the specification for applications;

We do not instruct colleagues to slow down the handling of applications or change the specification between applications – all applications are assessed against the same criteria.

Question 2

Number of Applications.

Date  range from April 2023 to current:

Number of applications for this certificate, broken down month by month if possible, if not per quarter.  If this is collated by gender, ethnic background etc, please provide this also.

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached. We hold data on the number of applications for HC2s, but we do not hold data on applicants’ gender or ethnic backgrounds.

Data on the number of applications for HC2s can be found in the following files:

• FOI_03593

• DATA_DICTIONARY_FOI_03593

Number of applications declined or refused for the above, to include reasons if these are collated/summarised.

We do not hold this information. This is because the NHSBSA does not decline or refuse applications. All applications received are processed, assessed and responded to.

Number of complaints/appeals received relating to this certificate application process, broken down by month or quarter.

Of the complaints/appeals received, the number where the decision was made to issue a certificate after the complaint/appeal was made.

We do not hold this information. Complaints and appeals are not recorded in a way that allows us to identify this data relating to the certificate application process.

Question 3

Performance Metrics. 

Date range from April 2023 to current:

Copies of all performance/activity reports covering this certificate.

We do not hold this information. There are no performance metrics produced specifically for HC2s. Performance reporting exists only at the wider NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS) service level, not at certificate type level.

A list of the committee's these reports are prepared for or discussed in.

We do not hold this information. No committees are held for HC2s, and therefore no committee reviews or discussions take place regarding HC2specific performance.

Copies of the minutes for the committee's pertaining to the reports discussion summary/actions/comments etc.  Please note I do not require the full sets of minutes, just the section/parts relating to HC2's.

We do not hold this information. As noted above, no committees exist for HC2-related performance, and therefore no minutes are produced. Working groups are held for the NHS LIS service as a whole; however, these groups are not minuted.

Copies of any other reports produced relating to this area.

We do not hold any other HC2specific reports. As above, performance and activity reporting is only carried out for the NHS LIS at service level and not broken down by certificate type.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.