Contacts with tobacco industry
Dear colleagues,
I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please provide a list of any and all contact your organisation and/or staff have had with British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, as well as any other domestic or transnational tobacco companies or anyone representing the tobacco industry including subsidiaries of tobacco industry.
I would like this information for the period from 1 April 2021 to 20 February 2023.
Contact would primarily include attending or arranging meetings or functions, and responding to correspondence or phone calls.
Please break down the information by:
• Tobacco company or representative’s name
• Date of contact(s)
• Type of contact (meeting, email, letter, phone call, text/app message or video call, e-card or any other form of electronic communication)
• Place of contact, if relevant
• Purpose of contact
• Outcome of contact, including if no action taken
I request that the information be provided electronically. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and discuss the request, my details are outlined below.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Raouf Alebshehy
Dear Mr Alebshehy
Thank you for your email of the 20 February 2023, in which you asked for information about information on any contact our organisation and/or staff have had with tobacco companies.
The Sentencing Council and its staff have no contact with any tobacco companies.
If you are dissatisfied with how we have handled your request, information on the steps you can take is provided below.
Internal Review
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to an internal review. The handling of your request will be looked at by someone who was not responsible for the original case, and they will make a decision as to whether we answered your request correctly.
If you would like to request a review, please write or send an email to the Office of the Sentencing Council, for the attention of Jessica Queenan, within two months of the date of this email, at the following address:
Office of the Sentencing Council
EB16 East Block
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London, WC2A 2LL
E-mail: [Sentencing Council request email] FAO Jessica Queenan
Information Commissioner’s Office
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Commissioner is an independent regulator who has the power to direct us to respond to your request differently, if he considers that we have handled it incorrectly.
You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Internet address: http://ico.org.uk/complaints
Yours sincerely
Jessica
Jessica Queenan
Office of the Sentencing Council
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