DHSC use of the term ‘minimally processed’
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information:
• Any emailed or written correspondence between DHSC and the Food and Drink Federation, or third parties acting on behalf of the Food and Drink Federation, between October 2022 and October 2023, pertaining to DHSC’s use of the term ‘minimally processed’.
• Any internal meeting minutes or emailed correspondence, within the same time period, pertaining to the decision to exclude the term ‘minimally processed’ from HFSS guidance (‘Restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar or salt by location and by volume price’).
Yours faithfully,
Cathy Cliff
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Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Your correspondence is being handled by the appropriate team.
If you have made an FOI request, DHSC is required under section 10(1) of
the FOIA to provide you with a response within 20 working days. If DHSC is
unable to do this, we will contact you nearer the time.
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communications.
Dear Ms Cliff,
Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1535267).
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Thank you for your response to my Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI-1541528 on 31st October.
Responding to the points made in your letter, I'd like to clarify that yes, I am requesting correspondence specifically between the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and DHSC officials who worked on the implementation guidance for the Promotions Restrictions for products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) between October 2022 and October 2023, where I referred to DHSC’s use of the term ‘minimally processed’.
FDF has publicly stated they played a role in having the words 'minimally processed' removed from the guidance. They say: "The FDF’s engagement with Department of Health and Social Care officials also resulted in the removal of the reference to ‘minimally processed’ in the HFSS promotions guidance." https://www.fdf.org.uk/fdf/about-fdf/rea...
Please disregard the request re 'third parties', and disregard the request re 'Any internal meeting minutes or emailed correspondence, within the same time period'. I would like to clarify that my priority is on emailed correspondence specifically between FDF and DHSC officials concerning the use of the term 'minimally processed'.
I look forward to hearing from you further.
Yours faithfully,
Cathy Cliff
This is an acknowledgement - please do not reply to this email.
Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Your correspondence is being handled by the appropriate team.
If you have made an FOI request, DHSC is required under section 10(1) of
the FOIA to provide you with a response within 20 working days. If DHSC is
unable to do this, we will contact you nearer the time.
This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
My FOI request "DHSC use of the term minimally processed" was due a response by 4th December 2024.
I am writing to remind you to please reply to my request.
Many thanks,
Cathy Cliff
Dear Ms Cliff,
Thank you for your email of 9 December about your Freedom of Information request (ref: FOI-1544995).
We apologise that we have been unable to reply to your FOI request (FOI-1544995) by 04/12, and we apologise for the continued delay. Unfortunately, the Department’s response is not yet complete.
We will reply to your request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Your response to my FOI request "DHSC use of the term minimally processed" has been delayed. By law, DHSC should normally have responded promptly and by 4th December 2024.
I am writing to remind you to please reply to my request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Cathy Cliff
Dear Ms Cliff,
Thank you for your email of 2 January about your Freedom of Information request (ref: FOI-1544995).
We apologise that we have been unable to reply to your FOI request (FOI-1544995) by 04/12, and we apologise for the continued delay. Unfortunately, the Department’s response is still not yet complete.
We will reply to your request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'DHSC use of the term ‘minimally processed’'.
A response to my request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the Department should have responded by now.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...
Yours faithfully,
Cathy Cliff
Dear Ms Cliff.
Thank you for your recent email requesting an internal review into the
handling of FOI-1544995 (a follow-up to FOI-1541528).
The FOI request was received on 5 November 2024 and you should have
received a full reply by the 20th working day. I note from our records, in
our acknowledgement to you on 14 November, we stated we would write to you
if we were unable to meet with the legal deadline, but it does not appear
that was done. The revised legal deadline of 2 January 2025 has also been
missed without writing out to you.
In this respect, I have today made contact with policy officials who have
confirmed DHSC's response is being finalised, and is expected to be sent
to you by the end of the week.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the lengthy delay and for any
inconvenience it may have caused.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.
Dear Ms Cliff,
Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1544995).
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
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