FOI-03563

Thank you for your request for information about the following: 

##Request 

<p><i>‘The data request is for effectively the same fields we receive from you in the public hosted EPD set but for the unverified EPS data set.</i></p>

<p><i>So as per the original request:</i></p>

<p><i>Period (Month of submission)</i></p>

<p><i>ICB Code</i></p>

<p><i>Practice Code</i></p>

<p><i>BNF Code</i></p>

<p><i>Snomed Code</i></p>

<p><i>Items</i></p>

<p><i>Qty x Items</i></p>

<p><i>I would like this for all ICBs as that won’t impact the request other than the size of the data required. The request is now for Oct, Nov and Dec 2025 and monthly thereafter.’</i></p>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 19 January 2026.  

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

##Our response 

##EPD data for October 2025 and November 2025 

Under Section 21 of the FOIA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.  

The information you requested is available from https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/prescription-data/prescribing-data/english-prescribing-data-epd  

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 

##EPD data from December 2025 and future months 

The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we consider that this information is exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the FOIA. This provides an exemption from the duty to disclose information where the requested information is intended for future publication.  

The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance states that “the public authority must, at the time of the request, hold the information and intend that it or “any other person” will publish it in future. This means that it must have a “settled expectation that the information will be published at some future date”. 

The information is intended for future publication. The planned publication date is available from the NHSBSA website: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/data-release-calendar 

Section 22 is a class-based, qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure. 

Considerations for disclosure: 

- Inherent public interest in openness, transparency and accountability of public authority dealings and use of public funds  

- It may be of benefit to Integrated Care Boards to have access to data prior to planned publication. This might include patient safety factors that a two-month delay may have in specific areas of prescribing. 

Considerations against disclosure:  

- Duplication of effort to respond to FOI requests in addition to preparing data for planned publication 

- Planned publication date is typically only 2 months after the dispensing month 

- Putting unverified data into the public domain prior to planned publication could create confusion between the datasets. This could lead to misinterpretation of the data, as well as additional queries and questions that need to be addressed by the NHSBSA  

- The unprocessed data could contain significant errors which would be corrected as part of processing 

- There may be variation in the number of contractors and proportion of EPS messages submitted at the date of running the report. 

- Ad hoc FOI requests for this data may lead to a proliferation of variations compared to a well curated publication 

Conclusion: 

We consider that the advantage to releasing this information now (rather than upon the planned publication) is outweighed by the potential prejudice to the completeness and consistency of the data provided. 

It is in line with accepted practice not to publish EPS data prior to the planned publication date. This allows for verification of the data and provides a single comprehensive, consistent and accessible source of prescribing information. 

Please see the following link to view the section 22 in full - Freedom of Information Act 2000 (legislation.gov.uk) 

##Data Queries 

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a> 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 <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. 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”. 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.

Tags: EPD, NHS Prescription Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log