The Trust is unable to publish some workforce equality information since, to do so, could potentially lead to the identification of the individuals because of the low numbers involved. This would be a breach the Trust’s obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 and, accordingly, this aspect of the data is exempt from disclosure under the terms of Section 40 (2) of the Act.

In considering section 40 (2) the Trust has made regard to the Principles of the Data Protection Act. The Trust felt that it would breach Principle 1 – the requirement to process personal/sensitive information fairly and lawfully and Principle 6 – the data subject rights, in relation to section 10 – the right to prevent possessing likely to cause damage or distress.

The Trust is required to provide communication support in the form of Interpreter Services for patients who do not use English as a first language (Foreign Language Interpretation: FLI) and for those who communicate using British Sign Language (BSL).