RCVS 'overspend report': Freedom of Information enquiry decision

The full ‘Overspend Report’, produced by Professor Bill McKelvey and colleagues, will not be released publicly, based on external Counsel’s advice sought by the RCVS.

It had always been the intention of RCVS Officers that the full report, which considered the building works in the Lower Ground Floor of the RCVS offices in Belgravia House, and the implementation of a new database, would be published.

The meat of the report is in the recommendations, which are being taken forward by Officers and RCVS Council.

However, on the advice of solicitors (Penningtons), only the recommendations of the Report were published initially, in November.

This publication followed discussion of the full report (one sentence was redacted on legal advice) by RCVS Council on 3 November.

Freedom of Information requests for the full report were then received by the College, so further, external senior legal advice was sought.

This advice, from Counsel, confirmed the original view from solicitors that it would be inappropriate to publish the report in full because it includes personal data, which ought not to be made public, under the Data Protection Act.

The meat of the report is in the recommendations, which account for approximately 50% of the report, and which are being taken forward by Officers and RCVS Council, with plans to put an Audit and Risk Committee in place taking priority.

The recommendations of the report, which were adopted by Council, were published online on 11 November and are available to download from the 'Related documents' box, above right.