AQW 50170/22-27
Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down
Tabled Date: 01/07/2026
Answered On Date: 04/08/2026
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 48254/22-27, to detail the length of time each of the 20 cases that the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust is progressing have been with the trust for a response.
Answer:
The previous response to AQW 48254/22-27 reflected 20 cases where NIPSO have requested information and South Eastern Trust are actively progressing to provide a response. A breakdown of the 20 cases by timeframe for response to NIPSO is outlined in Table 1 Table 1 | 0-1 month | 1-2 months | 2-3 months | 3-4 months | Total | Number of responses submitted to NIPSO | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | Number of responses being actively progressed | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Total | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
Source: South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust South Eastern Trust have advised they are actively progressing the 6 remaining cases to provide a response to the Ombudsman. As noted in previous response to AQW 48254/22-27 in line with the Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, as a listed authority, the Trust must comply with the requests made by the Ombudsman’s office. If any person obstructs the Ombudsman in the performance of its function, the Ombudsman may certify the offence to the High Court. All Trusts have a legal obligation to respond to all NIPSO requests. Please see below excerpt from the Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 https://www.nipso.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/NIPSO-Act.pdf
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