Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information request F24-041

Thank you for your request for information dated 21 January 2024, received
by us on the 22 January 2024, 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 19 February 2024.

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

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

Information Compliance Support Officer
Information Compliance Service
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[1]parliament.uk

 
[2][IMG]

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments
about the service that you have received please complete the online
[3]feedback form

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices:
[4]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection

From: Halush Brinton <[FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent: 21 January 2024 18:25
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Assisted dying/assisted suicide

Dear House of Commons,

Please provide a list of all proposed legislation that has ever dealt with
the matter of Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide.

If at all possible, please include citation details including inter alia
Session and name of the bills Promoter.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Halush Brinton

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #1074634 email]

Is [6][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:
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
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latest advice from the ICO:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/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

Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information request F24-041

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You have asked
the House of Commons for “a list of all proposed legislation that has ever
dealt with the matter of Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide”, which we have
sought to answer below.  We have interpreted your request for proposed
legislation to be about bills, which are proposals for new laws.

This information is not held by the House of Commons.

It may help you to know that, generally speaking, new legislation is
proposed by the Government, from its various departments and ministries. 
The House of Commons is not a part of the Government.  While the House of
Commons would hold information about any bill that had been proposed,
other information such as early stage plans and policy details might be
held by the relevant governmental body.

If any information relevant to your request exists that was not presented
to Parliament, this may be held by the Government’s Department of Health
and Social Care.  If you wish to make a request to them, their contact
details can be found on the Government’s website here: 
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Lastly, please understand that if a Bill is presented to the House of
Commons, any progress (including introduction date) will be published on
UK Parliaments Bills and Legislation webpage, that can be found here:
[2]https://www.parliament.uk/business/bills....

 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
Compliance Team, Governance Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
or [3][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, [4]https://ico.org.uk/.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Officer

House of Commons Information Compliance Team

House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

[5][IMG]

House of Commons [6]Privacy Notice for the public

From: Halush Brinton <[7][FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent on: Sunday, January 21, 2024 6:24:54 PM
To: FOI Commons <[8][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Assisted dying/assisted suicide
   

Dear House of Commons,

Please provide a list of all proposed legislation that has ever dealt with
the matter of Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide.

If at all possible, please include citation details including inter alia
Session and name of the bills Promoter.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Halush Brinton

show quoted sections

Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information request F24-103

Thank you for your request for information dated 19 February
2024, 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 19 March 2024.

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

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

Information Compliance Support Officer
Information Compliance Service
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[1]parliament.uk

 
[2][IMG]

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments
about the service that you have received please complete the online
[3]feedback form

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices:
[4]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection

From: Halush Brinton <[FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 10:07 AM
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Assisted
dying/assisted suicide

Dear FOI Commons,

Thank you for confirming that.

In which case, would it be possible for you to please provide copies of
Sessional Returns from 1981-97?

Yours sincerely,

Halush Brinton

show quoted sections

Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information request F24-103

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. Further to a
previous request, you have made a request for new information,
specifically copies of the Sessional Returns from 1981 to 1997.

This information is not held by the House of Commons.

However, it may help you to know that we understand that Sessional Returns
prior to 1997 are held by the House of Lords.  The House of Lords is a
separate public authority in accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.  If you wish to make a request to them, you can contact them at
[1][email address].

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
Compliance Team, Governance Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
or [2][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, [3]https://ico.org.uk/.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

Information Compliance Support Officer
Information Compliance Service
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[4]parliament.uk
[5][IMG]

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments
about the service that you have received please complete the online
[6]feedback form

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices:
[7]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection

From: Halush Brinton <[8][FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 10:07 AM
To: FOI Commons <[9][email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Assisted
dying/assisted suicide

Dear FOI Commons,

Thank you for confirming that.

In which case, would it be possible for you to please provide copies of
Sessional Returns from 1981-97?

Yours sincerely,

Halush Brinton

UK Parliament Disclaimer: this e-mail is confidential to the intended
recipient. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and
delete it from your system. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, or copying
is not permitted. This e-mail has been checked for viruses, but no
liability is accepted for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by
this e-mail. This e-mail address is not secure, is not encrypted and
should not be used for sensitive data.

References

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8. mailto:[FOI #1074634 email]
9. mailto:[email address]

Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information request F24-103

Thank you for your further email, copied below.  You have asked us to
check our response to your request, as the “Sessional Papers were in fact
published by HC at this time, and they were published under the Title
Sessional Information Digest - Compiled in the Public Information Office,
Department of the Library, House of Commons.”

Whilst you are entitled to have a full internal review of our response, I
thought it might be quicker and more helpful to check this myself and
provide you with a speedy, informal response.  I have discovered that you
are quite right – the House of Commons does hold most of this information
– which is detailed below.

Sessional Returns began to be published by the House of Commons in 1987.
The ones between 1987 and 1997 are published in Proquest UK Parliamentary
Papers [1]https://parlipapers.proquest.com/, a subscription database, also
available via reference libraries or the Parliamentary Archives for a fee.

Before 1987 not all of the information is held.  Returns were not
published as Parliamentary Papers, but laid before the House of Commons. 
However, unfortunately they have not always been catalogued in a
consistent way so are quite hard to trace in the Parliamentary Archives,
which stores historical papers and documents. In addition, the Archives
informs me that some Papers were never laid at all, but those that were
are held in hard copy in the Unprinted Papers.  The results of searches in
the Unprinted Papers for the period 1948-1986 can be found here: [2]House
Returns.

While the House of Commons holds this information, it is exempt from
disclosure in accordance with section 21(1) and (2)(a) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA), which removes a public authority from the
obligation to provide access to information which is already in the public
domain.  This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does
not apply.

If you would like to access records held by the Parliamentary Archives,
please contact them directly.  They can also provide PDF downloads as part
of their reprographics service.  Full details of the Archives and their
services can be found on their website here:
[3]https://archives.parliament.uk/.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the incorrect response we
previously supplied.  We take a great deal of care to ensure that our
responses are timely and accurate but, on this occasion, we got it wrong
and I hope that this has not inconvenienced you.  You may still request an
internal review of our responses; if that is the case, please let me know
along with the grounds for your complaint.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Manager

House of Commons Information Compliance Service

House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

[4][IMG]

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices: 
[5]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection 

For advice and guidance about Data Protection and Freedom of Information,
see [6]our pages on ParliNet.

From: Halush Brinton <[FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent: 25 February 2024 09:19
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Assisted
dying/assisted suicide

Dear FOI Commons,

Could you please look into this again, as I can see that the Sessional
Papers were in fact published by HC at this time, and they were published
under the Title Sessional Information Digest - Compiled in the Public
Information Office, Department of the Library, House of Commons.

Yours sincerely,

Halush Brinton

show quoted sections

Dear Halush Brinton,

Freedom of Information Request F24-103

I am writing to acknowledge your further email, copied below, in which you
ask for an Internal Review of our response to your request.

We will endeavour to provide a response within 20 working days. However,
it may be necessary to extend this deadline by another 20 working days,
for example if the review is complicated and requires the assistance of
multiple resources.

If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please let me know.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Manager

House of Commons Information Compliance Service

House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

[1][IMG]

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices: 
[2]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection 

For advice and guidance about Data Protection and Freedom of Information,
see [3]our pages on ParliNet.

From: Halush Brinton <[FOI #1074634 email]>
Sent: 13 March 2024 23:28
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Assisted
dying/assisted suicide

Dear House of Commons,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of House of Common's handling
of my FOI request 'Assisted dying/assisted suicide'.

The response is flawed and needs to be looked at more carefully.

The information provided seems vague, specifically as to what a Member of
the Public needs to do in order to access this information. The
information is publicly funded information and should be fully accounted
for.

You have made reference to a private subscription service which, in terms
of competition, discriminates against who may or may not access it - ie it
is not available to Members of the Public. Incidentally, one wonders how
much a subscription would cost, probably thousands of pounds depending on
size of the requesting business. That itself is something that would ring
alarm bells, ie price discrimination.

Are you suggesting that a local, provincial, library should pay exorbitant
costs to access "public information" on behalf of an applicant making a
statutory information request to HC?

You have made reference to the Parliamentary Archives, are you suggesting
that the National Archives will be able to fulfil this statutory
information request?

There is a serious issue, in terms of cardinal democratic principles, in
placing "public information" behind a paywall.

There is a serious issue, in terms of cardinal democratic principles, in
making access to "public information" unreasonably onerous.

Should not all Members of the Public be able to benefit from accessing
this information?

The handling of this FOI does not inspire confidence in a "system"
supposedly working, yet isn't. It comes across as lazy and disinterested,
both inherently bad things.

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

Yours faithfully,

Halush Brinton

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #1074634 email]

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

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

Internal Review Request for IR F24-103

Further to your request for an Internal Review, please find our response
attached. 

If you are still dissatisfied, you can complain to the Information
Commissioner’s Office whose details can be found
here:  [1]https://ico.org.uk/.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Manager

House of Commons Information Compliance Service

House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

[2][IMG]

For information about how the House of Commons uses your personal data
please see our privacy notices: 
[3]www.parliament.uk/site-information/data-protection 

For advice and guidance about Data Protection and Freedom of Information,
see [4]our pages on ParliNet.

UK Parliament Disclaimer: this e-mail is confidential to the intended
recipient. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and
delete it from your system. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, or copying
is not permitted. This e-mail has been checked for viruses, but no
liability is accepted for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by
this e-mail. This e-mail address is not secure, is not encrypted and
should not be used for sensitive data.

References

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