Our reference: DE464244

 

25 January 2010

 

Dear Mr Robbins

Thank you for your email of 1 December 2009 requesting the following information:

any documents, letters/e-mails or transcripts relating to Prince Charles' recent talks with Health Secretary Andy Burnham over the regulation of Alternative Medicine.

Your request for information has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Department neither confirms nor denies that it holds information falling within the description specified in your request.  Section 37(1)(a) of the Act provides that information is exempt information if it relates to communications with Her Majesty, with other members of the Royal Family or with the Royal Household.  Section 37(2) and section 2(1)(b) together provide that the duty to confirm or deny does not arise in respect of information which is exempt (or would be exempt) under section 37(1)(a) if the public interest in maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny outweighs the public interest in disclosing whether or not the Department holds the information. This should not be taken as an indication that the information you requested is or is not held by the Department.

To be clear, the Department is not neither confirming nor denying whether the Secretary of State met with The Prince of Wales, as it is in the public domain that His Royal Highness met with the Secretary of State on 29 October 2009. The Department is neither confirming nor denying whether it holds any information within the specific terms of your request - i.e. information relating to discussions that may or may not have taken place on the subject of ‘the regulation of Alternative Medicine’.

The factors in favour of confirming whether or not information is held include the general public interest in openness and that openness helps to increase trust in government; we also accept there is a general interest in the role of Members of the Royal Family, including HRH The Prince of Wales as Heir to the Throne.

On the other hand, the factors in favour of neither confirming nor denying whether or not information is held include the strong public interest in maintaining the constitutional principle that communications between the Heir to The Throne and Government, including the fact as to whether there have been any such communications between The Prince of Wales (or his representatives, writing on his behalf), are essentially confidential in nature.

There is a well-established constitutional doctrine that the Heir to the Throne has a right and duty to be instructed in the business of government in preparation for the time when he will be King. The rights that he exercises as Heir to the Throne (which are those rights that he will exercise as the Monarch) depend equally on the confidentiality and privacy of communications with Government. These communications are regarded as subject to expectations of confidence, and it is of considerable public interest that they be treated as such.

Whilst it is publicly known, and acknowledged by The Prince of Wales himself, that he meets on occasion with government Ministers, the content of those discussions are confidential. This is entirely proper.

It is important for The Prince of Wales to know that the choices he makes about what he discusses with Ministers are protected, and that no undue inferences can be drawn from the absence or existence of any particular topics of discussion. Without such protection His Royal Highness could find his ability to carry out his role as Heir to the Throne undermined.

Having considered all the circumstances of this case, I am of the view that the public interest in maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny outweighs the public interest in disclosing whether or not the Department holds the information.

I hope that this reply is helpful.  If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:

Head of the Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health
Room 317
Richmond House
79 Whitehall,
London
SW1A 2NS
Email: [email address]

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Department.  The ICO can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Lynn Swyny
Freedom of Information Case Manager
Department of Health