This is an acknowledgement - please do not reply to this email.

Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care. 

If your enquiry is in relation to the pandemic, the Government has
launched a COVID-19 ‘hub’, which can be found
at [1]www.gov.uk/coronavirus and is regularly updated. 

The answers to many other questions can be found on [2]GOV.UK,
the [3]Department of Health and Social Care website or by visiting
the [4]NHS website. We may not respond to you if the answer to your
enquiry can be found on either of these websites. Where a reply is
appropriate, we aim to send a response within 20 working days.
 
Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. [5]This
webpage gives information on vaccination. You can also contact your GP,
clinical commissioning group or call 119.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you must get tested as soon as possible.
The swab test takes less than a minute and is pain-free. Results from test
sites are generally received within 24 hours of the test being
administered. Further information, including what symptoms to look out
for, can be found [6]here.
 
If your business is interested in helping the Government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit [7]this webpage. Please note that
the service that was set up for businesses to offer other COVID-19 support
has closed. If you have a product to sell to the NHS, please visit
[8]https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/.   
  
Since 15 February 2021, anyone travelling to the UK from a red-list
country has been required to quarantine in a managed quarantine facility
for a period of ten days. There will be periods where no countries are
listed, but the red list remains ready to be stood up should the global
epidemiological situation change. In these circumstances, there is
guidance available on a range of queries.

To find out how to apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please
visit
[9]www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-managed-quarantine-for-compassionate-reasons.

If you have been in quarantine and have a complaint about the hotel,
please raise your concerns with the hotel itself in the first instance. If
your complaint is unresolved, please email the complaints team at
[10][email address].
 
If you are writing in connection with an NHS or social care service please
note that the department does not manage health and social services
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advice or intervene in matters concerning patient care or social services.
If you wish to make a complaint about a healthcare professional, an NHS
organisation or a social care provider, please visit [11]this link.

 
If you would like to raise your concerns about a COVID-19 testing
provider, or have any other NHS Test and Trace enquiries, you can
contact [12]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints. 

Our [13]Personal information charter and [14]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.

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References

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Dear Mr Hope,

Thank you for your email about your Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The response that you refer to is an automatically generated email to acknowledge receipt of your request and is not a full reply. We are still processing your FOI request and we aim to respond to all requests within the statutory deadline of 20 working days.

Although we attempt to answer all cases as soon as is practicable, the target date is determined as the 20th working day following the date of receipt. We received your request on 7 March, and the latest date by which you can expect to receive a reply is therefore 4 April. If it appears that it will take longer than this to provide you with a response, we will keep you informed.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Dear Mr Hope,

Thank you for your request of 7 March under the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act (our ref: FOI-1441296).

We are writing to inform you that the Department's consideration of the
balance of the public interest with regard to your request is not yet
complete and requires further time to complete in line with section 10(3)
of the FOI Act.

The Department is currently assessing the public interest in release under
section 43.

We anticipate this process will take no longer than a further 20 working
days to complete. We therefore aim to respond fully to your request by 5
May.
 
Please accept our apologies for this delay.

If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to appeal by asking for an internal review once you have received
your response. This should be sent to [DHSC request email]
within two months of the date of our FOI response.  
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, or should
you wish to raise a complaint about our handling of the case, 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.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
 

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Dear Mr Hope,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1441296).

Yours sincerely, 

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Dear Mr Hope,

Thank you for your request for an internal review.

Please be kind enough to confirm the FOI reference number. In your request
you state,

'I am concerned that the content and redactions in the responses I have
received is not justified considering the importance of the data
requested. Furthermore the chair of the COVID Inquiry has now used a legal
order to compel the government to hand over the unredacted messages'.

Upon checking our records, I can only see we have issued one response
(FOI-1441296), which did not enclose a document with redactions nor
contain any redactions itself.

I would ask you to quote the above IR reference number with your reply.

Once you have been kind enough to clarify, we will gladly consider your
request.

Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Internal Reviews
Department of Health and Social Care

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Dear Mr Hope,

On 25 May, we sent you the following message:

Dear Mr Hope,

Thank you for your request for an internal review.
Please be kind enough to confirm the FOI reference number. In your request
you state,
'I am concerned that the content and redactions in the responses I have
received is not justified considering the importance of the data
requested. Furthermore the chair of the COVID Inquiry has now used a legal
order to compel the government to hand over the unredacted messages'.
Upon checking our records, I can only see we have issued one response
(FOI-1441296), which did not enclose a document with redactions nor
contain any redactions itself.
I would ask you to quote the above IR reference number with your reply.
Once you have been kind enough to clarify, we will gladly consider your
request.

To date, we do not appear to have received a reply. If we do not receive a
response by Friday 9th June, we shall assume you no longer require an
internal review and we will close the record.

We look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,

FOI Internal Reviews
Department of Health and Social Care

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Dear Mr Hope,

Your requested internal review of FOI-1441296 is now complete. Please see
the attached letter for the outcome.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Internal Reviews
Department of Health and Social Care

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