Behaviour Change Group Deliberations
Dear Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland,
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I request the following:
From the date of constitution of the Behaviour Change Group to 27 January 2022:
1. A list of dates of meetings of the Group;
2. The agenda for each meeting of the Group;
3. The minutes of the proceedings of the Group; and
4. The expenses paid to the members of the Group and the amount spent to support the administration of the Group.
Further I request any reports or recommendations made of the Group to governmental bodies, departments, the Executive and any Ministers.
Yours faithfully,
Robert John Park
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Thank you for your FOI request. The FOI team will formally acknowledge
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________________________________
Dear Mr Park
Ref: Freedom of Information Request No. 221/22
Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received by the Public Health Agency on 27 January 2022. This request will be processed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, within the statutory timescale of 20 working days. While we will endeavour to provide you with a response within this timescale, in the event of disruption to services due to COVID-19 there may be delays and we would appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
The leaflet attached is provided for your information and tells you about the legislation and our procedures for dealing with requests for information.
If you have any queries about this communication, please do not hesitate to contact us. It would be helpful if you could quote the reference number above in any future communications relating to this request.
We hope you find this helpful.
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
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________________________________
Dear Mr Park
Freedom of Information Request No. 221/22
We apologise that we have been unable to respond to your information request within the 20 day timeframe as laid down under the FOI Act 2000.
The PHA continues to face system pressures following the impact of Covid 19 and unfortunately this has led to some delays in responding to your information request. However, we can assure you that your request is being progressed and we do hope to be in a position to issue a response to you shortly.
Thank you for your patience.
Your sincerely
FOI Team
Dear Foi Pha,
I would be grateful for an update on the status of my Freedom of Information request Ref: 221/22
Yours sincerely,
Robert John Park
“This email is covered by the disclaimer found at the end of the message.”
________________________________
Dear Mr Park
I refer to your email of 29 March 2022 and now attach part 1 of the PHA’s response to your information request, part 2 will follow directly after this email. Our response is being issued in two parts due to email size limitations when forwarding large attachments.
Once again we apologise for our delay in responding as previously advised the PHA continues to experience system pressures relating to Covid 19 and unfortunately this has resulted in a delay in responding to your information request.
If you do have any queries about this communication, please do not hesitate to contact me. It would be helpful if you could quote the reference number above in any future communications relating to this request for information.
Yours sincerely
Janine Watterson
FOI Team
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________________________________
Dear Mr Park
As advised in my previous email, please find attached email 2 of 2 which attaches the remaining information in relation to your information request FOI 221/22.
Yours sincerely
Janine Watterson
Assistant Governance Manager | Public Health Agency | 4th Floor, 12-22 Linenhall Street | Belfast |BT2 8BS
Dear Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Behaviour Change Group Deliberations'.
The redaction of the names of the members and their organisation is in the public interest and I request that this redaction is removed throughout all of the attachments.
The BCG advised government departments and influenced policy. It is not only important to know who the members are but also the organisations they represented and how they were selected/appointed.
I also request the constitution and founding instruments of the Behavioural Change Group and it’s governance framework including its reporting and accountability mechanisms.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
Yours faithfully,
Robert John Park
“This email is covered by the disclaimer found at the end of the message.”
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Dear Mr Park
Thank you for your email of 5 March 2023 which requests an internal review
in relation to our response (dated 31 March 2022) to your FOI request
(dated 27 January 2022) regarding the Behaviour Change Group. A new
request for information is also noted in the penultimate paragraph of your
email below. Our response to your email of 5 March 2023 is provided
below.
FOI Internal Review Request (FOI 221/22)
We are sorry that you are unhappy with our response to your information
request dated 27 January 2022 however, we would draw your attention to our
Response Letter which was emailed to you on 31 March 2022 (copy attached)
which highlights that a request for an internal review should be submitted
within two months of the date of our response. This is in line with ICO
guidance (for organisations) which states that:
Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the
initial response. This deadline should be communicated to the requester in
that response. You [Organisations] are not obliged to provide a review if
it is requested after more than 40 working days.
In consideration of the above guidance and the time period that has
elapsed from our initial response to you, we are of the view that we have
carried out our statutory obligations, under the FOI Act 2000, in relation
to your request dated 27 January 2022 (FOI 221/22) and therefore we will
not be providing an internal review in this instance.
New Request (FOI 77-2223)
Your new request for information, set out in the penultimate paragraph of
your email below, will be processed under the FOI Act 2000 and the leaflet
attached is provided for your information and tells you about the
legislation and our procedures for dealing with requests for information.
If you have any queries about this communication, please do not hesitate
to contact us. It would be helpful if you could quote the relevant
reference number above in any future communications relating to this
request.
Yours sincerely
Janine Watterson
FOI Team
Dear Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Behaviour Change Group Deliberations'.
In light of the “leaked” WhatsApp messages (of the then UK Health Secretary), I believe it to be in the public interest now to unredact the names and organisations of the members of the Behavioural Change Group.
The two month deadline for requesting an internal review in this circumstance now should be relaxed. Please review your decision to not conduct an internal review in light of this public interest case.
Thank you for considering the new FOIA request separately.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
Yours faithfully,
Robert John Park
“This email is covered by the disclaimer found at the end of the message.”
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Mr Park
Ref: Freedom of Information Request No. FOI 77-2223 (and Internal Review
Request FOI 221/22)
Please find attached PHA’s response to your Freedom of Information Request
(and further correspondence regarding FOI 221/22).
We apologise for our delay in responding. PHA is experiencing an
increased demand on its personnel and resources and your patience and
understanding is recognised and appreciated.
If you have any queries about this communication, please do not hesitate
to contact me quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Carol Hermin
FOI Team
From: Foi Pha <[email address]>
Sent: 07 March 2023 17:21
To: Robert John Park <[FOI #827812 email]>
Subject: Request for an internal review (FOI 221/22) & new request (FOI
77-2223)
Dear Mr Park
Thank you for your email of 5 March 2023 which requests an internal review
in relation to our response (dated 31 March 2022) to your FOI request
(dated 27 January 2022) regarding the Behaviour Change Group. A new
request for information is also noted in the penultimate paragraph of your
email below. Our response to your email of 5 March 2023 is provided
below.
FOI Internal Review Request (FOI 221/22)
We are sorry that you are unhappy with our response to your information
request dated 27 January 2022 however, we would draw your attention to our
Response Letter which was emailed to you on 31 March 2022 (copy attached)
which highlights that a request for an internal review should be submitted
within two months of the date of our response. This is in line with ICO
guidance (for organisations) which states that:
Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the
initial response. This deadline should be communicated to the requester in
that response. You [Organisations] are not obliged to provide a review if
it is requested after more than 40 working days.
In consideration of the above guidance and the time period that has
elapsed from our initial response to you, we are of the view that we have
carried out our statutory obligations, under the FOI Act 2000, in relation
to your request dated 27 January 2022 (FOI 221/22) and therefore we will
not be providing an internal review in this instance.
New Request (FOI 77-2223)
Your new request for information, set out in the penultimate paragraph of
your email below, will be processed under the FOI Act 2000 and the leaflet
attached is provided for your information and tells you about the
legislation and our procedures for dealing with requests for information.
If you have any queries about this communication, please do not hesitate
to contact us. It would be helpful if you could quote the relevant
reference number above in any future communications relating to this
request.
Yours sincerely
Janine Watterson
FOI Team
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