FOI Heroin / Diamorphine Assisted Treatment (0557-2022/23)
Request
I wish to request information under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) regarding the consideration of the use of Heroin Assisted Treatment or Diamorphine Assisted Treatment. This is a scheme which Cleveland Police have previously run, and you can find more information on this here: https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.pcc.police.uk%2Fhow-can-we-help%2Fcommunity%2Fheroin-assisted-treatment-hat%2F&data=05%7C01%7CCivilDisclosure%40northyorkshire.police.uk%7C426ba27e1b714cd33df108daa77f911a%7C2c84bc9193af476e9721cdad67cb3ead%7C0%7C0%7C638006463608606722%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=81no%2FfbJ%2Bu8nn6H3Zww%2B2cuUXQQd5sLOoX4tAo%2FdE4Y%3D&reserved=0
My aim with this request is to find out how many other police forces in England have engaged in discussion about this treatment and to what extent.
I would therefore like to request the following:
Q1. Please can you disclose any e-mail, WhatsApp or text message correspondence between your force and Foundations Healthcare, (foundations.a81630 @nhs.net) who are based at Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, TS5 4EQ, and Daniel Ahmed of Foundations Healthcare, (Daniel.ahmed @nhs.net), relating to Heroin Assisted Treatment, also known as HAT, or Diamorphine Assisted Treatment also known as DAT.
Extent of Searches to Locate Information
Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police to locate relevant information.
Response
Decision
Your request for information below has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) we can neither confirm nor deny if North Yorkshire Police does or does not hold the information you have requested. It is estimated that the cost of complying with your request for information would exceed the “appropriate costs limit” under Section 12(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Section 12(2) allows a public authority to refuse a request where it estimates that it would exceed to appropriate limit to either comply with the request in its entirety or confirm or deny whether the requested information is held.
Due to the nature of our recording systems the information requested, if held, is not in an easily retrievable format. In order to retrieve the information you have requested, it would be necessary to conduct a search across the whole force for any correspondence, including that which is written, relating to Heroin Assisted Treatment or Diamorphine Assisted Treatment. A manual read would then be required to determine if it relates to your request, exceeding the time limit allowed under the Act.
Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.
Pursuant to Section 16 of the Act I am required to offer you advice and assistance with regarding to refining your request to within the ‘appropriate limit’ (time/cost limit). However, due to the information provided above I am unable to suggest how you may refine your request and still receive the information within the cost threshold. If you wish to discuss this, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.