Communications regarding Valneva COVID-19 vaccine

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please could you provide a copy of all communications to or from the permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care (or his office), during the period 30 August 2021 to 30 September 2021 inclusive, which contain either or both of the words "Valneva" and "VLA2001" (spelled with any combination of upper- and lower-case letters).

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

Department of Health and Social Care

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/vacci...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. mailto:[email address]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-f...
12. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
13. https://dhexchange.kahootz.com/MQS.lands...
14. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
15. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
16. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
17. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

It is now almost 40 working days since I submitted this request. This is far in excess of the 20 working days specified in section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and is thus in breach of the act.

Please can you now respond to my request forthwith.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

It is significantly more than 40 working days since I submitted this request, which is far in excess of the 20 working days specified in section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

ICO guidance document "Time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (Section 10)" (https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...) states:
"Authorities should regard the 20 working day limit as a ‘long stop’, in other words the latest possible date on which they may issue a response."

Please can you advise within the next 5 working days whether you are intending to respond to this FOI request.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr MacArthur,

Thank you for your email.

We apologise for the length of time it has taken to process your FOI request. Unfortunately, the Department’s response is not yet complete. We will issue our response as soon as possible. 

Please accept our apologies for the delay.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

It is now more than 80 working days since I submitted this request, which is double the amount of time since I last wrote to you, and more than four times the 20 working days specified in section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please can you advise (a) why it is taking so long to respond to a FOI request that is as simple as this one is, and (b) when you expect to issue your response.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

I wrote to you on 25 March 2022 asking you to advise (a) why it is taking so long to respond to this FOI request, and (b) when you expect to issue your response.

I have not yet received a reply from you.

Please can you provide me with an update on these points by the end of this week (ie, by 8 April 2022).

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Kenneth,

Thank you for your email of 4 April about your Freedom of Information request.

We apologise that we have been unable to reply to your FOI request to date, and we apologise for the continued delay. We will reply to your request as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

You have advised on the 'when' you will respond ("as soon as possible"), but not on the 'why' you haven't responded thus far.

Please can you advise briefly on why it is taking so long to respond to this FOI request.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Kenneth,

We are currently still processing your request and seeking responses. We will aim to send a response to you in due course. Apologies again for the delay.

Best wishes,

Michael

****************

Michael Pierson
Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Health & Social Care
39 Victoria Street, SW1H 0EU

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Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

It is now several weeks since your last message, so I am writing to request an update on the status of this FOI request.

This is a very simple request, so it is hard to understand why it is taking so long, unless you simply wish to avoid releasing the requested information into the public domain.

Can we agree a date by which you will respond to the request, after which you accept that I will have no other option than to raise a complaint with the ICO?

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

It is now over a month since Michael Pierson's last message, and almost six months since I made this request.

Can you please provide me with an update on the processing of the request and explain why said processing has taken much longer than the statutorily permitted timeframe.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr MacArthur

Thank you for your message. We apologise again for the delay in responding. As you may be aware, we received unprecedented volumes of FOI requests during the pandemic, which has been a strain on our resources. But we are working hard to process our overdue cases, and will respond as soon as we can.

Yours sincerely
FOI team

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Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for your response.

Are you able to explain why you were able to answer this FOI request from me (https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...) within 14 working days, and the follow-up request contain therein within a further 15 working days, but this FOI request, which refers both to fewer people (only one person in fact), and to a limited time period (of ~one month), has taken you almost six months already?

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr MacArthur
Thank you for your message. I'm sorry, but I do not know the reason for this discrepancy.
Yours sincerely
FOI team

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Department of Health and Social Care

3 Attachments

Dear Mr MacArthur,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your FOI request (our ref: FOI-1375236). I apologise for the delay in
replying.

Yours sincerely, 

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Carrie Janssen left an annotation ()

That's hilarious..... waiting seven months for that.

Kenneth MacArthur

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of the Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Communications regarding Valneva COVID-19 vaccine'.

I have a number of specific questions, which I would appreciate separate, numbered responses to:

1) I requested "communications" to or from the permanent secretary (or his office). One assumes that most communications these days take the form of e-mail. However, no e-mails have been provided - rather, only two (as you say, heavily redacted) ministerial briefing papers. Can you confirm whether any e-mails exist which match the criteria in my request?

2) If such e-mails do exist, can you confirm precisely which legal basis you are relying on for not providing them?

3) If such e-mails do exist, do you agree that the proper thing to do would be to redact them as necessary (as you have done with the ministerial briefing papers), rather than not provide them at all? The fact that Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine was being discussed around this time is already in the public domain - evidenced not least of all by the ministerial briefing papers you provided.

4) You used the term "personally identifiable information" in your response. Do you acknowledge that this term originates in United States privacy law, and that the correct term in UK law (including retained EU law) is personal data?

5) Finally, do you accept that UK freedom of information case law holds that the personal data exemption in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply to ministers and senior civil servants when carrying out official duties?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth MacArthur

Department of Health and Social Care

2 Attachments

Dear Mr MacArthur.
 
Please find attached the outcome letter of the internal review into the
handling of FOI-1375236 and an accompanying document.
 
Yours sincerely.
 
Mr D Stanton
Freedom of Information Team
This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.