'Informal' internal review into your Covid-19 response
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please kindly provide a copy of the internal review document prepared internally by your department into your Covid-19 response. We understand the document is 'informal' but that is not a reason not to release it under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours faithfully,
Amanda Hart
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.
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 ''Informal' internal review into your Covid-19 response'.
We understand there may be a delay in providing this information but as there have been no changes to the time limits at which we can request an internal review it must therefore be entered today.
You have breached Section 10 of the FoIA.
Section 10 of the Act sets out the time frames within which a public authority must respond to an FOIA request.
* It applies whenever the public authority has:
- a duty under section 1(1)(a) confirm or deny whether the information is held;
- a duty under section 1(1)(b) to provide information that is held to the requester;
- a duty under section 17 to issue a refusal notice explaining why a request has been refused.
* Authorities must respond to requests promptly, and by the twentieth working day following the date of receipt of the request.
* A working day is any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
* Where required, an authority may claim a reasonable extension of time to consider the public interest test. An extension beyond an additional 20 working days should be exceptional.
You are also reminded it is the Information Commissioner who recommends internal reviews are requested when authorities fail to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. They state it is your chance to report on what went wrong and they see it as your opportunity to set things right.
You are under no legal obligation to complete an internal review, but it is considered 'good practice' to do so as it will help you to avoid further breaches. Should you inform us that you are not completing one, or claim there "is nothing to review", there is no further legal requirement for us to wait any longer. Be advised we would then pass the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...
Yours faithfully,
Amanda Hart
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.
Dear Ms Hart,
Thank you for your email. I apologise for the length of time it is taking to respond to your FOI request.
DHSC does not conduct internal reviews until a response to the initial case has been issued. Although organisations can choose to conduct an internal review to assess the handling process where they have taken more than 20 working days to respond, DHSC uses the internal review process once the initial case is complete to ensure that any exemptions that have been used have been applied correctly, and that all information within the scope of the request was considered.
We will therefore not be conducting an internal review. We will respond to your FOI request as soon as we are able.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
Dear Ms Hart,
Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref:FOI-1331916 ).
I apologise for the late arrival of this response.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Franklyn
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 ''Informal' internal review into your Covid-19 response'.
Re: FOI 1331916 FOI 1331917
We thank you for your response, but are not satisfied with the content. While it is true there may be elements within the document we requested that fall within valid exemption clauses there is no reason why you cannot redact such information. We are only interested in the portions relating to how the matter was handled not how it should be handled in future.
As per ICO guidance you have up to 40 days to provide an internal review into your response along with the information we asked for.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...
Yours faithfully,
Amanda Hart
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Asked ICO for an update on this case as it's over a year since we last heard from them.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Chased up ICO as we have no record of a response to our previous email asking for an update on this case.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Reviewed and sent list of legal failings by DHSC to ICO on this case.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Received email from ICO implying IC-104630-Q9P5 is for a Subject Access Request rather than a FoI request. We therefore supplied evidence this FoI was referred to ICO in June 2021 and again in October 2021.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
We have been forced to log a formal complaint against ICO in relation to this matter.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Chased on 24th August 2023 because we have received no response to our official complaint.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
We today received an email from ICO in response to our email on 27th June 2023 16:10 but nothing regarding the wider complaint.
Next chase due 24th September 2023.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
ICO's case reference for this Freedom of Information complaint against DHSC is now IC-258907-G9Q2.
Dear Ms Hart,
The department has recently been contacted by the office of the
Information Commissioner with reference to your request, first sent to the
Department in May 2021.
Please see the attached documents.
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
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.
Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
Amongst other matters, we have formally requested the ICO to advocate to the government for a modification in the law, requiring authorities to furnish their current internal review policy when a FoI request is made so that people do not have to needlessly wait the 40 working day period needlessly.
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Amanda Hart left an annotation ()
For public reference
The National Audit Office (NAO) report found that the Covid 19 pandemic had "laid bare existing fault lines within society and has exacerbated inequalities" https://web.archive.org/web/202105191203...