FOI 19-26: A request for records received by the Health Committee in relation to a press release on 13 January 2026
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our ref: FoI 19-26
20 April 2026
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 23 March 2026 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). In your request, you asked:
‘1 I would like a copy of all records received by the Health Committee from the Department of Health in relation to the press release on the 13th January 2026 that read "72,000 attacks on health service staff in last 5 years”.
2 I would also like to know if the Health Committee has been provided with a breakdown of the service area and patient category for the 72,000 assaults?
3 On what date were the Health Committee informed that the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust did not implement the suite of adult protection documentation (APP forms) that was released by Department of Health and Health Minister Simon Hamilton in 2015/16?’
Our response
The Committee for Health (the Committee) has provided the following information in relation to your request:
- The Committee has had no correspondence from the Department in relation to this issue.
- The Committee has not received a breakdown of those assaults by service area and patient category.
- The Committee does not hold a record on this issue.
Members of the Assembly may have asked Assembly Questions of Ministers about the subjects you have raised and may have received answers that refer to this information. All Assembly questions, and the answers received, are published on the Assembly’s website in a searchable database. Questions and answers can be searched here.
Further Information
You have the right to request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised.
Yours sincerely
INFORMATION STANDARDS
