Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
www.gov.uk/dhsc
Ms Gemma Stirling
By email to:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
3 July 2023
Dear Ms Stirling,
Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI-1458018
Thank you for your request dated 5 June to the Department of Health and Social Care
(DHSC), a copy of which can be found in the accompanying annex.
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
DHSC holds information relevant to your request.
We have found one relevant WhatsApp chat group and details can be found in the table
below. Please note that, as we cannot provide a list of all groups without it exceeding the
cost limit, we have limited the scope to DHSC business-related groups that are specifically
about Test and Trace only as you have requested.
WhatsApp chat name
Participants
Testing Group
Duncan Selbie
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
Ed Taylor
Matt Hancock
Kristen McCloud
Emma Dean
Kathy Hall
Allan Nixon
Natasha Price
James Bethell
David Williams
Sam Roberts
John Bell
Tamsin Berry
Jeremy Farrar
Aidan Fowler
John Newton
Duncan Selbie
If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to appeal by
asking for an internal review. This should be sent to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or
to the address at the top of this letter and be submitted within two months of the date of
this letter.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communication.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly
to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Generally, the ICO cannot make a
decision unless you have already appealed our original response and received our internal
review decision. You should raise your concerns with the ICO within three months of your
last meaningful contact with us.
Guidance on contacting the ICO can be found at
https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us and
information about making a complaint can be found at
https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Annex
From: Gemma Stirling <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Sent: 05 June 2023 17:44
To: FreedomofInformation <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Test and trace WhatsApp
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Thank you for this and I appreciate you explaining this to me.
I would like a list of the names of all WhatsApp groups Matt Hancock was a member of
and the names of the other participants. These groups must be business related groups
and not personal. Where a title exists this must be provided.
If an entire list is not possible (irrelevant of subject matter) then please limit the request to
only those which are track and trace if it helps keep the request within the 18 hours limit.
Yours faithfully,
Gemma Stirling
