NHS -Extra £8 Billion

The request was partially successful.

Dear Prime Minister’s Office,

During the most recent General Election, Mr Cameron regularly referred to an extra £8 billion of funding that would be provided to the NHS. When asked about where this money was coming from, Mr Cameron referred to the Conservative Parties 'balanced plan' for the economy but would not be any more specific, even when pushed for a detailed breakdown.

1. Please disclose any recorded information held by the Prime Ministers office in relation to this £8 billion and where it will come from (for example and not limited to; memo's, official documents, manifesto, meeting minutes).

2. Please disclose any communication between Mr Cameron and Mr Osbourne (then chancellor of the exchequer) held by the Prime Ministers office in relation to the £8 billion (which may include but not limited to; letters, policy discussions, emails, transcribed phone calls).

3. Please disclose any communication between Mr Cameron and Mr Hunt (Secretary of State for Health) held by the Prime Ministers office in relation to the £8 billion (which may include but not limited to; letters, policy discussions, emails, transcribed phone calls).

If this request is likely to exceed the statutory time or cost limits as specified within the Freedom of Information Act, please start by answering the questions in order of appearance and provide as much information as possible within these constraints.

I believe that this request is in the public interest.

Yours faithfully,

Dale Ricketts

FOI Team Mailbox, Prime Minister's Office

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE:  FOI321270

Dear DALE RICKETTS

Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received on
22/6/2015 and is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

This email is just a short acknowledgement of your request.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact the FOI team.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Knowledge and Information Management Unit

Cabinet Office

E: [1][email address]

References

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1. mailto:[Number 10 request email]

FOI Team Mailbox, Prime Minister's Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached the reply to your recent FOI request

 

 

 

Regards

 

 

FOI Team

1 Horse Guards Road

London

SW1A 2HQ

 

Email – [1][email address]

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[Number 10 request email]

Dear FOI Team Mailbox,

Thank you kindly for your recent reply to my Freedom of Information request (FOI321270).

I note that you have provided some of the requested information (answered question 1 of 3).

Could you please clarify whether you hold any of the information requested in questions 2 and 3 as no information was provided in relation to these questions?

I will seek advice from the information commisioner as to whether communication between the Prime Minister and other members of the cabinet are open to disclosure in respect of this FOI request if necessary. It seems feasible to me that the information requested would be held by your department.

Yours sincerely,

Dale Ricketts

FOI Team Mailbox, Prime Minister's Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached the reply to your recent FOI request

 

 

 

Regards

 

 

FOI Team

1 Horse Guards Road

London

SW1A 2HQ

 

Email – [1][email address]

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[Number 10 request email]

Dear FOI Team Mailbox,

Thank you again for sending a reply to this Freedom of Information request. I notice that you have sent the same reply as before which only partially answers my request.

You have answered question 1 which is very informative and I am very grateful for this

Unfortunately your reply makes no reference to questions 2 and 3 in that you do not provide the requested information, make no indication as to whether you hold the information and no indication of where I might be able to obtain the information if indeed you do not hold it.

Once again, could you please confirm whether you hold information in relation to questions 2 and 3 of my request? This is clearly specified in my original request as records of communication (emails, transcribed phone calls etc.) between the Prime Minister, the Health Secretary and the Chancelor of the Exchequer in relation to the promised £8 billion for the NHS.

If you hold the information and feel that you are unable to provide it due to exemptions under the freedom of information act, then please specify this as the reason and I will confirm this with the Information Commisioner.

I think it is most likely that you do hold this information as surely the Prime Minister, his Health Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer must communicate in some way? I would be very interested in reading their communications in relation to the £8 billion promise to the NHS which was regularly referred to in the build up to the General Election

I my opinion politicians can often 'skate around' the facts when asked direct questions or very cleverly change the subject completely. In this case, nothing but direct answers to the questions will do.

Yours sincerely,

Dale Ricketts

Dear FOI Team Mailbox,

I wonder if you could possibly provide an update on this request please?

You answered my original request within the timeframe specified within the Freedom of Information Act (2000) and I am very grateful for this. Unfortunately though, as detailed in my most recent communication, you did not provide any information in relation to questions 2 and 3 of my request.

It may well be that you actually hold no information relating to questions 2 and 3 but I do not think this likely. It may well be that you are unable to disclose this information, in which case you should specify this as the reason, referencing the specific part of legislation which allows the exemption. It may well be that another department holds this information, in which case you should advise me where I am most likely to find that information.

The Freedom of Information Act (2000) is clear in section 16 that '(1)It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information to it'.

In addition, where a request is refused in whole or in part it also states in section 17 that '(1)A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to the request or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which—
(a)states that fact,
(b)specifies the exemption in question, and
(c)states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.'

I hope this clarifies the situation and will prompt a full response to the unanswered questions 2 and 3 of my request without the need for requesting an internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Dale Ricketts

Dear Prime Minister’s Office,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Prime Minister’s Office's handling of my FOI request 'NHS -Extra £8 Billion'.

On 20th June 2015 I made the initial request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (2000). I received an automatic reply from your department on 22nd June 2015 and a timely response to my request on 20th July 2015. Whilst your reply was informative, it did not answer questions 2 and 3 of my Freedom of Information request or give any explanation of why questions 2 and 3 could not be answered.

On 24th July 2015 I sent a prompt to your department requesting the assistance with questions 2 and 3 of my request. Your department replied by sending an exact copy of the initial response on 30th July 2015. On the same day I sent a further prompt explaining again that I was seeking information relating to questions 2 and 3 of my request. Having received no further response from your department, I sent a further prompt with another explanation of the information that I was seeking in relation to questions 2 and 3 of my request on 6th August 2015. I also supplied references to Sections 16 and 17 of The Freedom of Information Act (2000) which I believe are applicable in this case

The Freedom of Information Act (2000) is clear in section 16 that
'(1)It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice
and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the
authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made,
requests for information to it'.

To comply with Section 16 of the Freedom of information act (2000) please answer the following questions in your internal review;

1. Whether you hold the information as requested in questions 2 and 3 of my request

2. If you do not hold the information, where might I find the requested information.

In addition, where a request is refused in whole or in part it also
states in section 17 that '(1)A public authority which, in relation
to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim
that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or
deny is relevant to the request or on a claim that information is
exempt information must, within the time for complying with section
1(1), give the applicant a notice which—
(a)states that fact,
(b)specifies the exemption in question, and
(c)states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the
exemption applies.'

In accordance with Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), if you do hold the information as requested in questions 2 and 3 of my request but feel that it must be refused because of an exemption, please state that fact and specify the exemption in question and why it applies. Please also note that, in accordance with Section 17 of The Freedom of Information Act (2000), this should have been provided within the time for complying with Section 1(1).

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

Yours faithfully,

Dale Ricketts

FOI Team Mailbox, Prime Minister's Office

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE:  IR321270

Dear DALE RICKETTS

Thank you for your request for an internal review. Your request was
received on 19/8/2015 and is being dealt with under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This email is just a short acknowledgement of your request.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact the FOI team.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Yours sincerely,

Knowledge and Information Management Unit

Cabinet Office

E: [1][email address]

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

Dear FOI Team Mailbox,

Could you please update me on the status of this internal review?

Yours sincerely,

Dale Ricketts

FOI Team Mailbox, Prime Minister's Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached the reply to your recent internal review request

 

 

 

Regards

 

 

FOI Team

1 Horse Guards Road

London

SW1A 2HQ

 

Email – [1][email address]

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

Dear FOI Team Mailbox,

Thank you for sending the outcome of your internal review in relation to this request for information.

I will also contact the Department of Health and HM Treasury as you have suggested.

Yours sincerely,

Dale Ricketts