Dear Mr Smith,

Freedom of Information request F20-387

Thank you for your request for information dated 26 August 2020, received
by us on the same date, which is copied below.

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 24 September 2020.

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted above and in the subject line of this email.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

We will work hard to answer your information rights requests during the
current COVID 19 situation in line with statutory requirements, however
some requests may be affected by access to collections and availability of
staff. We will keep you informed of any identified delays in answering
your request.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

[1]www.parliament.uk | [2]@ukparliament | [3]@houseofcommons

[4]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the Public

[5]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

From: craig smith <[FOI #687657 email]>
Sent: 26 August 2020 07:04
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - And End To Masks In
Shops,Schools and Public Transport

Dear House of Commons,

When will the government stop forcing people to wear masks so people can
go about their lives normally without restriction and breathe fresh air?
And when will the government be providing independent verifiable proof
from an independent authority to prove the case for mask wearing is
necessary at all?
Also can you provide proof of a pandemic?As most of the deaths mentioned
appear to be from other causes and these people appear to have tested
positive on some dubious and in mamy cases inaccurate test,suggesting they
may not have died from what is implied at all

Yours faithfully,

craig smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #687657 email]

Is [7][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[10]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Restricted: Personal Data

Dear Mr Smith,

Freedom of Information Request F20-387

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You have asked
three questions about the Covid-19 pandemic, which we have sought to
answer below.

 1. When will the government stop forcing people to wear masks so people
can go about their lives normally without restriction and breathe
fresh air?
 2. And when will the government be providing independent verifiable proof
from an independent authority to prove the case for mask wearing is
necessary at all?

This information is not held by the House of Commons.

It may help you to understand that the House of Commons is an organisation
that forms part of the UK’s legislature. We are not part of the
Government, nor do we routinely have access to their documents and
records. It is our role to make and debate laws, scrutinise the work of
the Government and debate the issues of the day. You are seeking
information which might instead be held by a Government department or
agency, such as the Department of Health and Social Care or Public Health
England. You may therefore wish to consider submitting your request under
the Freedom of Information Act to them. Contact details can be found at
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
and [2]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....

However, it may interest you to know that the Parliamentary Office of
Science and Technology have undertaken research on the Covid-19 pandemic,
for the purpose of informing Members of Parliament. While this information
does not directly address your requests, this analysis has information on
the subject which you may find helpful and is publicly available at
[3]https://post.parliament.uk/category/anal....

 3. Also can you provide proof of a pandemic? As most of the deaths
mentioned appear to be from other causes and these people appear to
have tested positive on some dubious and in mamy cases inaccurate
test,suggesting they may not have died from what is implied at all

This information is not held by the House of Commons. This is because the
House Administration has no business purpose to prove the existence of a
pandemic, or conduct or process practical scientific research or verify
statistics on the causes of deaths, either in the UK or globally.

The information you are seeking information might instead be held by a
Government department or agency, such as the Department of Health and
Social Care or Public Health England, who you can contact using the links
provided above.

Again, it may interest you to know that the Parliamentary Office for
Science and Technology have undertaken research on the Covid-19 pandemic
in general, which can be found at
[4]https://post.parliament.uk/category/anal....

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an
internal review of any decision regarding your request.  Complaints or
requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Rights
and Information Security Service, Research & Information Team, House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AA or [5][House of Commons request email].  Please ensure
that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review
along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF,
[6]www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

IRIS Officer
Information Rights and Information Security

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[7][IMG]

[8]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments,
about the service that you have received please send an email
to [9][email address]

From: craig smith <[FOI #687657 email]>
Sent: 26 August 2020 07:04
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - And End To Masks In
Shops,Schools and Public Transport

Dear House of Commons,

When will the government stop forcing people to wear masks so people can
go about their lives normally without restriction and breathe fresh air?
And when will the government be providing independent verifiable proof
from an independent authority to prove the case for mask wearing is
necessary at all?
Also can you provide proof of a pandemic?As most of the deaths mentioned
appear to be from other causes and these people appear to have tested
positive on some dubious and in mamy cases inaccurate test,suggesting they
may not have died from what is implied at all

Yours faithfully,

craig smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[10][FOI #687657 email]

Is [11][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[12]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[13]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[14]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Smith,

Thank you for your further email, copied below.  You have requested an
Internal Review of our response to your request, on the grounds that we
have not answered your question “when will the requirement for facemasks
end?”.  Rather than launch a full Internal Review in the first instance, I
hope that it might be quicker and more helpful to provide you with more
information as a clarification of our position.

You originally asked us three questions about how the current Covid-19
pandemic is being managed; specifically you requested information about
the end of the face mask rule and evidence about the effectiveness of face
masks and of the pandemic itself.  However, the House of Commons does not
have this information for the reasons below.

It is Her Majesty’s Government that runs the country and which is
responsible for the information you seek.  The Government is split into a
number of Ministries and Department, each of whom have responsibility for
governing certain aspects of society.  In the case of the current
pandemic, it is the Government’s Department of Health and Social Care that
has responsibility for all matters related to people’s health, carrying
out research, deciding on policy and implementing it across the country.

The House of Commons is not part of the Government.  We do not employ MPs
and our staff are not Civil Servants.  It is a place where laws are
debated and agreed, and where aspects of the Government’s roles and
policies may be scrutinised.  Further information about the work of the
House and how it interacts with the work of the Government can be found
here:  [1]https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/.

In our response we provided advice and links to Government bodies who may
hold the information you seek.  We suggested that you contact these bodies
directly and this advice still stands.  The House of Commons simply cannot
give you information we do not have, but if you are still unsatisfied with
the way we have answered your request, please let us know.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Manager 
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) 
House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA 
[2]parliament.uk
[3][IMG]

[4]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

[5]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

From: craig smith <[FOI #687657 email]>
Sent: 28 September 2020 06:23
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - And End To
Masks In Shops,Schools and Public Transport

Dear FOI Commons,

The content of this request has not been adequately answered. When will
facemask requirement end?

Yours sincerely,

craig smith

show quoted sections