Multi-indication pricing of pharmaceuticals

The request was refused by Department of Health and Social Care.

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please confirm or deny if the Department of Health and Social Care has undertaken or commissioned any work since 2016 assessing the impact of multi-indication pricing of pharmaceuticals on the NHS.

Please supply any work the Department of Health and Social Care has undertaken or commissioned since 2016 assessing the impact of multi-indication pricing of pharmaceuticals on the NHS.

Yours faithfully,

Ivan Graham

Department of Health and Social Care

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

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

We are currently experiencing very high volumes of enquiries and we are
focusing our resources on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) response.

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 18 working days, or 20
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Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. Contact your
GP, clinical commissioning group or call 119. [5]This webpage gives
information on vaccination. 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/.   
  
If you are seeking an exemption from managed quarantine, please see the
advice below. Please note that there may be some delay before you receive
a decision. The team is receiving a great many requests to consider and
apologises if you do not receive a reply as quickly as you had hoped.
  
To apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please email
[9][email address] at least 14 days before your travel
date. You should include any medical evidence you want to submit to
support your application.
 
If you’re arriving from a red list country and need more information about
managed quarantine, contact: [10][email address].
A list of the current exemptions on medical and compassionate grounds can
be found [11]here. A list of the jobs that qualify for exemption can be
found [12]here. 
 
If you are, or 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 complete the [13]Managed
Quarantine Service Experience Survey. 
 
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
directly, nor does it process complaints. It also cannot give clinical
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 [14]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 [15]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints. 

Our [16]Personal information charter and [17]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/vacci...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. mailto:[email address]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-f...
12. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
13. https://dhexchange.kahootz.com/MQS.lands...
14. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
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Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Graham,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref:FOI-1366383).

Yours sincerely, 

Michael Pierson
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

show quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for your reply. Could you please provide the relevant documents with any sensitive information redacted?

Yours faithfully,

Ivan Graham

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr Graham

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm all documents are being fully withheld under sec.35/43, therefore we are not issuing any redacted documents.

If you do not agree with the response, you can, as stated in your response request an internal review. You can do this by replying to this email requesting a review.

Regards

FOI Team

show quoted sections

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 'Multi-indication pricing of pharmaceuticals'.

I would request a review of the application of Section 43 - it has not been made clear how the research information requested could have a direct detrimental impact on the broad figures mentioned in your response.

I also believe that the section 35(1)(a) exemption noted does not apply in this instance - according to the ICO's guidance on the section 35 exemption this usually applies to decisions made by ministers, rather that discussions between civil servants and subject experts as cited in your response to me. Considering I have requested speculative pieces of work, I wish to better understand how this request fulfils the three factors the Commissioner considers to be indicative of the formulation or development of government policy per section 42 of the guidance document:

- the final decision will be made either by the Cabinet or the relevant minister;
- the government intends to achieve a particular outcome or change in the real world; and
- the consequences of the decision will be wide-ranging

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/mu...

Thank you for considering this request.

Yours faithfully,

Ivan Graham

Department of Health and Social Care

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

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

We are currently experiencing very high volumes of enquiries and we are
focusing our resources on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) response.

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 18 working days, or 20
working days if your query is a Freedom of Information request or
complaint.
 
Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. Contact your
GP, clinical commissioning group or call 119. [5]This webpage gives
information on vaccination. 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/.   
  
If you are seeking an exemption from managed quarantine, please see the
advice below. Please note that there may be some delay before you receive
a decision. The team is receiving a great many requests to consider and
apologises if you do not receive a reply as quickly as you had hoped.
  
To apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please email
[9][email address] at least 14 days before your travel
date. You should include any medical evidence you want to submit to
support your application.
 
If you’re arriving from a red list country and need more information about
managed quarantine, contact: [10][email address].
A list of the current exemptions on medical and compassionate grounds can
be found [11]here. A list of the jobs that qualify for exemption can be
found [12]here. 
 
If you are, or 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 complete the [13]Managed
Quarantine Service Experience Survey. 
 
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
directly, nor does it process complaints. It also cannot give clinical
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 [14]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 [15]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints. 

Our [16]Personal information charter and [17]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.

 

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.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/vacci...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. mailto:[email address]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-f...
12. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
13. https://dhexchange.kahootz.com/MQS.lands...
14. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
15. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
16. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
17. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Could I please have an update on my last request, which is overdue.

Yours faithfully,

Ivan Graham

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr Graham,

I apologise for the length of time it has taken to carry out your requested internal review.

Unfortunately, the Department's response is not yet complete. We will update you as soon as possible.

Please accept my apologies for this delay.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team

Department of Health and Social Care

show quoted sections

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Graham.
 
Please find attached the outcome letter to your recent request for an
internal review into FOI-1366383.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Dominic Stanton
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.