Agreement with Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Liverpool Hospitals

Summary

A request was made for copies of agreements between the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care/Manx Care and specific UK hospitals for patient treatment services from 2018 to the present. The authority responded that the requested information is not held.

Key Facts

• The request was submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care on 2026-02-11.
• The response was issued on 2026-02-27 by Chief Officer Professor Tim O'Neill.
• The outcome of the request is 'Information not held'.
• The request covered agreements with Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Liverpool University Hospitals.
• The scope included oncology, haematology, transplantation, and diagnostic services.

Data Disclosed

• 2026-02-11
• 2026-02-27
• 01 January 2018
• 5297405
• 3
• 1

Original Request

I write to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Isle of Man). Please provide copies of any agreements, contracts, memoranda of understanding, service-level agreements, commissioning arrangements, or equivalent documents which were entered into, varied, renewed, or otherwise operative at any time between 01 January 2018 and the present, under which the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care (or any predecessor body) has arranged for the treatment and/or diagnostic services of Isle of Man patients provided by: The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust; and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This request includes agreements held directly by the Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care, as well as any agreements held or administered on their behalf by a third-party commissioning, contracting, or support body. This includes, but is not limited to, arrangements relating to oncology, haematology, transplantation, diagnostics, and associated specialist services. For clarity, this request includes (where held): * Any formal written agreements (including contracts, memoranda of understanding, framework agreements, or service-level agreements). * Any variations, extensions, renewals, side letters, schedules, annexes, or appendices to such agreements. * Any documents setting out governance or oversight arrangements, quality assurance or accreditation expectations, clinical responsibility or liability allocation, arrangements for diagnostic testing or laboratory services, and escalation, incident management, serious incident reporting, or duty-of-candour obligations between the parties. * The date ranges during which each agreement was in force. * Any documents describing the financial or commissioning basis for these arrangements (for example, block contracts, per-patient funding, or cross-border reimbursement mechanisms). If the information is held across multiple documents, please provide all documents that together constitute the agreement(s). If any part of this request is considered exempt, please identify the specific exemption relied upon and disclose any non-exempt information in accordance with the Act. Where documents, or parts of documents, are withheld, please provide sufficient particulars to identify the document and the exemption applied. If the Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care does not hold the requested information, please confirm this explicitly. If it would assist processing, I am content for the response to be provided electronically. I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Chief Officer: Professor Tim O'Neill Freedom of Information Team First Floor Belgravia House Circular Road Douglas IM1 1AE

Our ref: 5297405 27 February 2026

Dear ###

We write further to your request received 11 February 2026, which states:

"I write to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Isle of Man).

Please provide copies of any agreements, contracts, memoranda of understanding, service-level agreements, commissioning arrangements, or equivalent documents which were entered into, varied, renewed, or otherwise operative at any time between 01 January 2018 and the present, under which the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care (or any predecessor body) has arranged for the treatment and/or diagnostic services of Isle of Man patients provided by:

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust; and

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

This request includes agreements held directly by the Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care, as well as any agreements held or administered on their behalf by a third-party commissioning, contracting, or support body.

This includes, but is not limited to, arrangements relating to oncology, haematology, transplantation, diagnostics, and associated specialist services.

For clarity, this request includes (where held):

• Any formal written agreements (including contracts, memoranda of understanding, framework agreements, or service-level agreements).
• Any variations, extensions, renewals, side letters, schedules, annexes, or appendices to such agreements.
• Any documents setting out governance or oversight arrangements, quality assurance or accreditation expectations, clinical responsibility or liability allocation, arrangements for diagnostic testing or laboratory services, and escalation, incident management, serious incident reporting, or duty-of-candour obligations between the parties.

• The date ranges during which each agreement was in force.

• Any documents describing the financial or commissioning basis for these arrangements (for example, block contracts, per-patient funding, or cross-border reimbursement mechanisms).

If the information is held across multiple documents, please provide all documents that together constitute the agreement(s).

If any part of this request is considered exempt, please identify the specific exemption relied upon and disclose any non-exempt information in accordance with the Act. Where documents, or parts of documents, are withheld, please provide sufficient particulars to identify the document and the exemption applied.

If the Department of Health and Social Care and/or Manx Care does not hold the requested information, please confirm this explicitly.

If it would assist processing, I am content for the response to be provided electronically.

I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department) is unable to provide the information that you have requested. This is in line with Section 11(3)a of the Act, as a practical refusal reason applies; namely we do not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested as it may be held by Manx Care.

You may wish to re-submit your request to Manx Care which is an option available on the Freedom of Information request portal, who may be able to help you.

To provide advice and assistance, the Department of Health and Social Care sets the strategic direction to develop and evolve the Island’s approach to health and social care delivery, regulation, and commissioning as set by the vision outlined in the Department Plan. The delivery of health and social care services to patients and service users on the Isle of Man are provided by Manx Care and its contracted service providers

Please quote the reference number 5297405 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are

dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.