NHS board rebuked by watchdog over handling of trans row tribunal cost requests

NHS Fife failed to comply with its freedom of information duties over the costs of an employment tribunal, Scotland's Information Commissioner has ruled.

The health board received three separate requests in March 2025 for the cost to date of the legal action, which was brought by nurse Sandie Peggie after her complaint about sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton led to her suspension. She was suspended from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January 2024 after she objected to Dr Upton using the changing facilities in its A&E department on Christmas Eve 2023.

Ms Peggie took the health board and Dr Upton to a tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal has been part heard, with proceedings set to continue in July.

NHS Fife rejected all three freedom of information (FOI) requests, stating that the information requested was exempt under the FOI Act's exemption - which protects personal information. However, a probe by the Scottish Information Commissioner has revealed that when responding to the requests, NHS Fife did not actually have the information on which it based its reply.

Information Commissioner David Hamilton said the details about costs was not obtained until later from the NHS Central Legal Office, and that the health board should have replied on the basis of information it did hold at the time of the requests. Mr Hamilton ordered the health board to carry out fresh searches for information it did "actually hold" at the time, and to issue revised responses in line with what it finds.

The commissioner also disputed NHS Fife's claim the cost data would be exempt from disclosure on the basis set out, and called on it to "exercise caution" when considering related exemptions around any additional information found. Read more:Trans doctor felt 'unsafe and upset' after nurse's commentsTrans doctor 'continued to use female changing rooms after row' Mr Hamilton described the matter as "frustrating" both for himself and for those who were seeking the information from the health board.

"In the circumstances, I am only able to require that NHS Fife carry out further searches to identify all information held at the time the request was made and then issue a revised response to the requesters," he said. "The delays that have arisen as a result were wholly avoidable, and I would urge that all public authorities ensure their responses to FOI requests are based on information they actually hold." A spokesperson for the health board said: "NHS Fife notes the report from the Scottish Information Commissioner and intends to comply fully with its decision notice.".