Policy Proposals to inform the development of a new Public Health Bill for Northern Ireland

Being transparent and providing accessible information to individuals is key to the Department of Health’s (DoH) commitment to building trust and confidence in our ability to process the information you share with us.

It is important therefore to note that your response, along with all other responses to this consultation, may be disclosed on request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR).

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential, so that this may be considered if the Department should receive a request for the information under the FOIA or EIR.

The information you provide will be processed to generate a report, which may be used by a Health Minister to help inform decision-making on policy proposals to inform a new Public Health Bill.  It will be shared only with the relevant officials within the Department of Health in order to produce the report. It is intended that the report will be completed in Autumn 2024, prior to the Bill’s introduction into the Assembly legislative programme.

We will retain consultation response information until our work on the subject matter of the consultation is complete, and in line with the Department's approved Retention and Disposal Schedule Good Management, Good Records.