Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
www.gov.uk/dhsc
Gemma Stirling
By email to
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
1 August 2023
Annex A: DHSC response to initial request
Annex B: Request for internal review
Dear Ms Stirling,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA): INTERNAL REVIEW
CASE REFERENCE: IR-1462234 (FOI-1458018)
You originally wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on 5 June 2023
requesting information relating to Test and Trace WhatsApp groups to which Matt Hancock
was a party. We responded to you on 3 July and a copy of our response, including the full
text of your request, can be found in Annex A.
You subsequently emailed DHSC on 12 July requesting an internal review into the
handling of your original request. A copy of your email can be found in Annex B.
The purpose of an internal review is to assess how your Freedom of Information (FOI)
request was handled in the first instance and to determine whether the original decision
given to you was correct. This is an independent review as I was not involved in the
original decision.
The review included repeated searches which have revealed a further two DHSC
business-related groups, detailed below. Please accept our apologies that this information
was not included in our original reply and for any inconvenience it may have caused.
WhatsApp chat name
Participants
TnT Matt Dido Jim
Matt Hancock
Dido Harding
James Bethell
WhatsApp chat name
Participants
Testing Testing
Matt Hancock
Boris Johnson
Dominic Cummings
Chris Wormwald
Simon Stevens
Conclusion
After careful consideration, I have concluded that the response you received to your FOI
request was partially compliant with the requirements of the FOIA as our original reply was
incomplete.
The review is now complete.
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 DHSC.
Guidance on contacting the ICO can be found a
t https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us and
information about making a complaint can be found a
t https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. Yours sincerely,
Mr D Stanton
FOI Internal Reviews
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Annex A: DHSC response to initial request
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 a
t https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us and
information about making a complaint can be found a
t 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
Annex B: Request for internal review
From: Gemma Stirling <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Sent: 12 July 2023 05:45
To: FreedomofInformation <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Test and trace WhatsApp
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 Department of Health and Social Care's
handling of my FOI request 'Test and trace WhatsApp'.
Please refer to the list in
https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheykn
ow.com%2Frequest%2Fw&data=05%7C01%7Cdhmail%40dhsc.gov.uk%7C6c2e9e6852f
84143c8e508db82c109d4%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c%7C1%7C0%7C638
247537822495992%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV
2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gbYN14yO
7T%2Fg5aLgM1RInE8dX94lsi3AMGisHBbs3rY%3D&reserved=0 ... Where there clearly is
more than one group for test and trace such as TnT Matt Dido Jim.
My next step will be to complain to the ICO.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this
address:
https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheykn
ow.com%2Frequest%2Ftest_and_trace_whatsapp&data=05%7C01%7Cdhmail%40dhsc.g
ov.uk%7C6c2e9e6852f84143c8e508db82c109d4%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a
1c%7C1%7C0%7C638247537822495992%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC
4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C
%7C&sdata=zsd6gov%2FmFQTE3mEGiseSsN8VP1E8arkk4rl0GCMSKw%3D&reserved=
0
Yours faithfully,
Gemma Stirling
