8.23 Guidance for Scottish public bodies on the implications of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to the procurement process and the release of information has been prepared by the Scottish Procurement Directorate (SPD) and is available on the Scottish Government website.
8.24 NHS bodies must consider the powers available to the public for accessing information under the Freedom of Information Act. It is therefore advised that NHS bodies should ensure that all information relevant to the Business Case and contract is made accessible (the SPD guidance gives advice on timing of release). This includes the FBC Executive Summary and the "Plain English Summary" of the contract as well as all submitted annexes.
8.25 Initial Agreements (IAs), Outline Business Cases (OBCs), Full Business Cases (FBCs) and contracts may still be edited to remove text of a commercially sensitive nature but it must be clearly stated in these documents what information has been excluded on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. Removal should be considered with reference to exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. Any documents which contain references to suppliers must be cleared with the appropriate supplier(s) before publication.
8.26 Irrespective of the capital value of the project, IAs, OBCs, and FBCs and FBC(A)s should be made publicly available no later than one month from the announcement of their approval, PPP contracts within one month of financial close.
8.27 Within one month of approval or financial close, a copy of the IA, OBC, FBC and FBC (A) (if applicable) should be placed with the local authority, on view at the NHSScotland body for staff and patients and with the local Health Council.
8.28 The NHSScotland body should have accessible on its premises a hard copy of the business case(s) and PPP contract.
8.29 For schemes in excess of £5m, the key documents (OBC, FBC and addendum, if applicable, documents should also be displayed at the local main public library and SPICe, the Scottish Parliament library (see paragraph 9.30 below). To let the general public know that these documents are available for perusal, an advert should be placed in the local press detailing their placement in the local library and the date from which the documents can be viewed. Separate adverts are required for OBCs and FBCs. The advert for the PPP FBC should state the expected date when it is anticipated that the addendum will be added to the FBC in the local main library. No further advert needs to be placed for the FBC addendum.
8.30 For schemes in excess of £5m, a copy of the key documents should be sent to the Capital Planning and Asset Management Division, Scottish Government Health Directorate, Basement Rear, St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG which will arrange for the documents to be placed in the library of the Scottish Parliament (SPICe). Although a paper copy of the documents is acceptable for SPICe, a CD Rom is preferred. Each document should clearly show a contact name, address and telephone number within the NHSScotland body for enquiries specific to the project. Each PPP document should also state that general enquiries on PPP should be addressed to Mike Baxter on 0131 244 2082 or by email to Michael.Baxter@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
8.23 8.31 For schemes in excess of £5m, it is now mandatory for NHS bodies to set up a section of their website dedicated specifically to such projects. The approved Business Cases and PPP contract should be placed there together with as much documentation and information as possible.
8.32 For Staff Partnership Representatives and the public library, the NHSScotland body should make contact and enquire whether they will be happy to accept a CD Rom instead of paper. The NHSScotland body must however be assured that the public library, in particular, has the facilities to ensure that all documentation is accessible to the public in that format.