ICO Orders Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to Disclose Data

ICO Decision Notices

Filed February 12th, 2026

Detected February 17th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ordered Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to disclose nurse and midwife referral data to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The trust must comply within 30 days, or face potential contempt of court proceedings.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice against Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, upholding a complainant's information request. The ICO ruled that the trust was not entitled to withhold nurse and midwife referral data to the Nursing and Midwifery Council under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The trust is required to disclose the requested information within 30 calendar days of the decision notice date. Failure to comply could result in the ICO certifying the non-compliance to the High Court, potentially leading to contempt of court proceedings.

What to do next

Disclose the requested nurse and midwife referral data to the Nursing and Midwifery Council within 30 days.

Penalties

Failure to comply may result in written certification to the High Court and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

Source document (simplified)

The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Date 12 February 2026
Sector Health
Decision(s) FOI 40(2): Upheld The complainant submitted an information request to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (the trust) for the number of nurse and midwife referrals made to the Nursing and Midwifery Council over a five-year period. The Commissioner’s decision is that the trust was not entitled to rely upon section 40(2) (third-party personal data) of FOIA to withhold the requested information. The Commissioner requires the trust to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: • Disclose the requested information. The trust must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.