FOI – 2025-000266 Long Covid Network (HTML)

Date received – 25 August 2025 | Date responded – 19 September 2025

Request

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I would like to request the following information:

1. Copies of correspondence (including emails, letters, and internal memos) held by NHS National Services Scotland which make reference to "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other charities working on Long Covid, created or received between 3 August 2025 and 22 August 2025.
2. Records of meetings held during this period (including agendas, invitations, minutes, or notes) where "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities were discussed, whether with external stakeholders or internally within NSS.
3. Briefings, reports, or summaries prepared for or by the Strategic Network for the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 (or any other NSS teams involved in Long Covid policy or stakeholder engagement) that mention "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities within the same date range.

For clarity, this request includes records where these organisations are referred to by abbreviation (e.g., "LCS") as well as by their full names.

I would prefer the information to be supplied in electronic format.

I understand that some material may require redaction to protect personal data or sensitive information, and I am content for that to be applied as necessary.

If fulfilling this request in its entirety would exceed the statutory cost limit under Section 12 of FOISA, I would appreciate guidance on how it might reasonably be refined. If any part of this request is unclear, please contact me to discuss clarification.

This request is made in the public interest, as it relates to NHS Scotland's engagement with patient groups and charities in the context of a significant long-term health condition affecting many people in Scotland.

Response

I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 25 August 2025 requesting the following information:

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I would like to request the following information:

1. Copies of correspondence (including emails, letters, and internal memos) held by NHS National Services Scotland which make reference to "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other charities working on Long Covid, created or received between 3 August 2025 and 22 August 2025.
2. Records of meetings held during this period (including agendas, invitations, minutes, or notes) where "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities were discussed, whether with external stakeholders or internally within NSS.
3. Briefings, reports, or summaries prepared for or by the Strategic Network for the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 (or any other NSS teams involved in Long Covid policy or stakeholder engagement) that mention "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities within the same date range.

For clarity, this request includes records where these organisations are referred to by abbreviation (e.g., "LCS") as well as by their full names.

I would prefer the information to be supplied in electronic format.

I understand that some material may require redaction to protect personal data or sensitive information, and I am content for that to be applied as necessary.

If fulfilling this request in its entirety would exceed the statutory cost limit under Section 12 of FOISA, I would appreciate guidance on how it might reasonably be refined. If any part of this request is unclear, please contact me to discuss clarification.

This request is made in the public interest, as it relates to NHS Scotland's engagement with patient groups and charities in the context of a significant long-term health condition affecting many people in Scotland.

We have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

1. Copies of correspondence (including emails, letters, and internal memos) held by NHS National Services Scotland which make reference to "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other charities working on Long Covid, created or received between 3 August 2025 and 22 August 2025.

Please find attached Appendices 1 – 15, which will provide you with all correspondence held by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) which make reference to Long Covid Scotland (LCS), Long Covid Kids (LCK), or other charities working on Long Covid, created or received between 3 August 2025 and 22 August 2025.

Some of the documentation being released includes personal data of third parties, specifically, names and contact details of individuals which have not been released into the public domain. Where this is the case, these details have been redacted in line with exception Section 38 ((1)(b)) of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act (FOISA) – Personal information

2. Records of meetings held during this period (including agendas, invitations, minutes, or notes) where "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities were discussed, whether with external stakeholders or internally within NSS.

Please see the below timeline in ascending order of meetings which took place during the period requested, where "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities were discussed:

• 06 August 2025 - Strategic Network monthly catch up with The Alliance – No agenda or notes were produced for this meeting. Resignation of LCS/LCK was notified and follow up email referenced in our response to Q 1, 5 - 20250806 ALLIANCE NSS catch up.
• 06 August 2025 – Children and Young People Group – The group was notified of the resignation of LCS/LCK, however this was not on the agenda, or noted in the action tracker.
• 07 August 2025 – Service Planning & Subject Experts Chair pre-meet – This was a pre-meeting to brief the group chair, with no agenda or notes. Resignation of LCS/LCK was noted when briefing the Chair.
• 13 August 2025 – Data and Intelligence Working Group – The group was notified of the resignation of LCS/LCK, however this was not on the agenda, or noted in the action tracker.
• 14 August 2025 – Lived Experience – Please find attached Appendix 16 - 2025-08-14 Note_Redacted, which is the note that was captured of this meeting. Resignation of LCS/LCK was noted. Some of the documentation being released includes personal data of third parties, specifically, names of individuals which have not been released into the public domain. Where this is the case, these details have been redacted in line with exception Section 38 ((1)(b)) of FOISA – Personal information
• 15 August 2025 – Steering Group Chair pre-meet - This was a pre-meeting to brief the group chair, with no agenda or notes. Resignation of LCS/LCK was notified when briefing the Chair.
• 19 August 2025 – Operational Peer & Resource Network – This is a semi-formal peer support group, without a formal agenda, no notes were produced for this meeting. The group was notified of the resignation of LCS/LCK.
• 20 August 2025 – Scottish Government monthly catch up – No agenda or notes were produced for this meeting. Resignation of LCS/LCK was informed. Briefings provided to SG is available in Appendices 4, 13 & 13a, that has been provided in our answer to Q1.
• 20 August 2025 – Steering Meeting – Please find attached Appendix 17 - NSS_LCN_Steering Group_Minutes_20.08.2025 (2)_Redacted, which is the minute that was captured at this meeting. Discussions relating to LCS/LCK were captured under agenda point 4 within the meeting. Some of the documentation being released includes personal data of third parties, specifically, names of individuals which have not been released into the public domain. Where this is the case, these details have been redacted in line with exception Section 38 ((1)(b)) of FOISA – Personal information

3. Briefings, reports, or summaries prepared for or by the Strategic Network for the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 (or any other NSS teams involved in Long Covid policy or stakeholder engagement) that mention "Long Covid Scotland", "Long Covid Kids", or other Long Covid-related charities within the same date range.

We have included all correspondence and information held by NSS in our answers to Q1 and Q2 above.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request, you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information, please contact the Associate Director Governance and Board Services (Board Secretary) within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.