NHSX Apple and Google

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

In June 2020 your department claimed (contrary to Apple's statement) that "The NHS's digital innovation unit had discussed its ambitions with Apple" and "NHSX has been working with Google and Apple extensively"

FoI request one of two: Please kindly supply the minutes of meetings held between 'NHSX' and Apple between December 2019 and June 2020 inclusive.

FoI request two of two: Please kindly supply the minutes of meetings held between 'NHSX' and Google between December 2019 and June 2020 inclusive.

Source for public reference: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5310...
NHSX: https://www.nhsx.nhs.uk/

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

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

The answers to many questions, including the latest information on
COVID-19, can be found on [1]GOV.UK, the [2]Department of Health and
Social Care website or by visiting the [3]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.

If you are experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19, please
visit [4]111.nhs.uk or telephone your GP surgery immediately for further
advice. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital directly.

If your organisation can offer support to help with the response to
coronavirus, including the supply of personal protective equipment, the
Government has set up an [5]online hub to compile and respond to all
offers. 

If you are clinician looking to support the NHS, please visit the [6]NHS
Professionals website for further information. 

If you are a clinician who has retired within the last 6 years and would
like more information on how to apply for the temporary register, please
visit the [7]NHS England website for further information. 

If you are a student looking to join the NHS, please visit the HEE website
for detailed guidance for [8]nurses and [9]doctors respectively. 

If you are seeking to offer your time to/volunteer for the NHS, please
visit [10]this website for more information.

The Department of Health and Social Care does not process complaints about
the NHS or social services. If you wish to make a complaint about a
healthcare professional, an NHS organisation or a social care provider,
please visit the [11]Complaints Procedure page on GOV.UK.

You can find out more about the Department’s commitments from our Personal
Information
Charterhttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....

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/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
3. https://www.nhs.uk/
4. https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/
5. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-support-f...
6. https://www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk/
7. http://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/re...
8. https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events...
9. https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events...
10. https://www.goodsamapp.org/nhs/
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI 1259007). 

Yours sincerely,

 
 Jane Spencer 

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc
 
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
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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. file:///tmp/www.gov.uk/dhsc

hide quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thanks for your request for clarification.

Upon reviewing the BBC's article, which states "Downing Street said the government had 'worked closely with Apple and Google'" but goes on to quote Apple saying "the government have not spoken to us". It appears the government claims that this is in relation to a "contact-tracing app". With this in mind, we are only interested in minutes from meetings held with Apple and Google in relation to the term "contact-tracing app".

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

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

The answers to many questions, including the latest information on
COVID-19, can be found on [1]GOV.UK, the [2]Department of Health and
Social Care website or by visiting the [3]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.

If you are experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19, please
visit [4]111.nhs.uk or telephone your GP surgery immediately for further
advice. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital directly.

If you are a business interested in helping the government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit this [5]Government website. Please
note that the service to offer other COVID-19 support from your business
has closed.

If you are clinician looking to support the NHS, please visit the NHS
Professionals websitehttps://www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk/ for further
information. 

If you are a clinician who has retired within the last 6 years and would
like more information on how to apply for the temporary register, please
visit the NHS England
websitehttp://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/re....

If you want to volunteer during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
please visit this
website[6]https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/coronavi... for
more information. 

The Department of Health and Social Care does not process complaints about
the NHS or social services. If you wish to make a complaint about a
healthcare professional, an NHS organisation or a social care provider,
please visit the [7]Complaints Procedure page on GOV.UK.

You can find out more about the Department’s commitments from our Personal
Information
Charterhttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....

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/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
3. https://www.nhs.uk/
4. https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/
5. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
6. https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/coronavi...
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

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 'NHSX Apple and Google' after clarification supplied on 28th October 2020.

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/n...

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Ms Partridge,

Thank you for your email. I apologise for the length of time it is taking to respond to your FOI request.

As you are aware, 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
Department of Health and Social Care

-----Original Message-----
From: Gemma Partridge <[FOI #694595 email]>
Sent: 29 November 2020 16:13
To: FreedomofInformation <[DHSC request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - NHSX Apple and Google

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 'NHSX Apple and Google' after clarification supplied on 28th October 2020.

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/n...

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #694595 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

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If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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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.

hide quoted sections

Dear FreedomofInformation,

Thanks for your response.

We are indeed aware. Likewise you are likely aware that an internal review must be requested and refused (or refused pending valid response to Freedom of Information request) before the Information Commissioner will take up the matter.

As the criteria has now been satisfied, the Section 10 breach will now be reported to the Information Commissioner.

Yours sincerely,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Reported to ICO 30th November 2020.

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1266718).

Yours sincerely, 

Le-anne Frankson
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc

 
 
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. file:///tmp/foiextract20201215-7091-1bpfd27#

hide quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thanks for your response. In light of this, please kindly provide a copy of meeting minutes (regardless of subject matter) between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 specific to the dates below.
26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Updated ICO

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

The answers to many questions, including the latest information on
COVID-19, can be found on [1]GOV.UK, the [2]Department of Health and
Social Care website or by visiting the [3]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.

If you are experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19, please
visit [4]111.nhs.uk or telephone your GP surgery immediately for further
advice. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital directly.

If you are a business interested in helping the government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit this [5]Government website. Please
note that the service to offer other COVID-19 support from your business
has closed.

If you are clinician looking to support the NHS, please visit the NHS
Professionals websitehttps://www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk/ for further
information. 

If you are a clinician who has retired within the last 6 years and would
like more information on how to apply for the temporary register, please
visit the NHS England
websitehttp://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/re....

If you want to volunteer during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
please visit this
website[6]https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/coronavi... for
more information. 

The Department of Health and Social Care does not process complaints about
the NHS or social services. If you wish to make a complaint about a
healthcare professional, an NHS organisation or a social care provider,
please visit the [7]Complaints Procedure page on GOV.UK.

You can find out more about the Department’s commitments from our Personal
Information
Charterhttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....

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/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
3. https://www.nhs.uk/
4. https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/
5. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
6. https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/coronavi...
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Department of Health and Social Care

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1282420).

Yours sincerely, 

Le-anne Frankson
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc

 
 
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. file:///tmp/foiextract20210113-9337-15fnmdc#

hide 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 'NHSX Apple and Google'.

You rejected our request dated 15th December which you coded FOI-1282420 claiming it was identical or too similar to a previous request.

It may be helpful for you if we summarise the relevant events:
On 27th September 2020 we asked you to supply meeting minutes between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple between December 2019 and June 2020 inclusive.

On 27th October 2020 you asked for clarification. We responded on the same date stating "..With this in mind, we are only interested in minutes from meetings held with Apple and Google in relation to the term 'contact-tracing app'.

On 29th November 2020 when you failed to supply a valid response as recognised by the Act we asked for an internal review.

On 30th November 2020 you stated you would not be conducting an internal review so we reported the matter to the Information Commissioner the same date.

On 15th December 2020 you informed us the information we sought would exceed the cost limit so you helped us to narrow it down by kindly providing us with a list of dates in which DHSC met with Apple and Google.

On 15th December 2020 in response to your message, we asked you to kindly therefore supply the information we sought specifically for the specified dates .

{Thanks for your response. In light of this, please kindly provide a copy of meeting minutes (regardless of subject matter) between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 specific to the dates below.
26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.}

Today we have you rejecting the request alleging it is too similar to a previous request. As you can clearly see by our summary, we asked for meeting minutes and we did not get them from you. We merely followed your instructions of how to narrow the request so that it may fall within the cost limit. Therefore your claim that the request is "too similar or identical to a previous request" is invalid.

Now that we've explained why you cannot rely on Section 14(2) to keep the information from us, we request that you now release it without further delay or we shall take the matter up with the Information Commissioner.

Your department is already facing a court judgement of Contempt due to your failure to comply with the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak... so I doubt you want further undesirable scrutiny.

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,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Updated ICO.

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Ms Partridge,

Thank you for your email.

The Department has received your request for an internal review of FOI-1282420, and will aim to reply within 20 working days.

Kind regards

FOI Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Gemma Partridge <[FOI #694595 email]>
Sent: 13 January 2021 10:04
To: FreedomofInformation <[DHSC request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - NHSX Apple and Google

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 'NHSX Apple and Google'.

You rejected our request dated 15th December which you coded FOI-1282420 claiming it was identical or too similar to a previous request.

It may be helpful for you if we summarise the relevant events:
On 27th September 2020 we asked you to supply meeting minutes between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple between December 2019 and June 2020 inclusive.

On 27th October 2020 you asked for clarification. We responded on the same date stating "..With this in mind, we are only interested in minutes from meetings held with Apple and Google in relation to the term 'contact-tracing app'.

On 29th November 2020 when you failed to supply a valid response as recognised by the Act we asked for an internal review.

On 30th November 2020 you stated you would not be conducting an internal review so we reported the matter to the Information Commissioner the same date.

On 15th December 2020 you informed us the information we sought would exceed the cost limit so you helped us to narrow it down by kindly providing us with a list of dates in which DHSC met with Apple and Google.

On 15th December 2020 in response to your message, we asked you to kindly therefore supply the information we sought specifically for the specified dates .

{Thanks for your response. In light of this, please kindly provide a copy of meeting minutes (regardless of subject matter) between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 specific to the dates below.
26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.}

Today we have you rejecting the request alleging it is too similar to a previous request. As you can clearly see by our summary, we asked for meeting minutes and we did not get them from you. We merely followed your instructions of how to narrow the request so that it may fall within the cost limit. Therefore your claim that the request is "too similar or identical to a previous request" is invalid.

Now that we've explained why you cannot rely on Section 14(2) to keep the information from us, we request that you now release it without further delay or we shall take the matter up with the Information Commissioner.

Your department is already facing a court judgement of Contempt due to your failure to comply with the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak... so I doubt you want further undesirable scrutiny.

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,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #694595 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

hide quoted sections

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

IC-73689-D8M4

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Partridge,

Your requested internal review of FOI-1282420 is now complete. Please see the attached letter for the outcome.

You may find it useful to refer to the Information Commissioner’s guidance on communicating effectively and politely with public authorities at:

https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...

Yours sincerely,

Charlene Carter
Freedom of Information Casework Manager
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EU

-----Original Message-----
From: Gemma Partridge <[FOI #694595 email]>
Sent: 13 January 2021 10:04
To: FreedomofInformation <[DHSC request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - NHSX Apple and Google

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 'NHSX Apple and Google'.

You rejected our request dated 15th December which you coded FOI-1282420 claiming it was identical or too similar to a previous request.

It may be helpful for you if we summarise the relevant events:
On 27th September 2020 we asked you to supply meeting minutes between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple between December 2019 and June 2020 inclusive.

On 27th October 2020 you asked for clarification. We responded on the same date stating "..With this in mind, we are only interested in minutes from meetings held with Apple and Google in relation to the term 'contact-tracing app'.

On 29th November 2020 when you failed to supply a valid response as recognised by the Act we asked for an internal review.

On 30th November 2020 you stated you would not be conducting an internal review so we reported the matter to the Information Commissioner the same date.

On 15th December 2020 you informed us the information we sought would exceed the cost limit so you helped us to narrow it down by kindly providing us with a list of dates in which DHSC met with Apple and Google.

On 15th December 2020 in response to your message, we asked you to kindly therefore supply the information we sought specifically for the specified dates .

{Thanks for your response. In light of this, please kindly provide a copy of meeting minutes (regardless of subject matter) between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 specific to the dates below.
26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.}

Today we have you rejecting the request alleging it is too similar to a previous request. As you can clearly see by our summary, we asked for meeting minutes and we did not get them from you. We merely followed your instructions of how to narrow the request so that it may fall within the cost limit. Therefore your claim that the request is "too similar or identical to a previous request" is invalid.

Now that we've explained why you cannot rely on Section 14(2) to keep the information from us, we request that you now release it without further delay or we shall take the matter up with the Information Commissioner.

Your department is already facing a court judgement of Contempt due to your failure to comply with the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak... so I doubt you want further undesirable scrutiny.

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,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #694595 email]

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Dear FreedomofInformation,

Thanks for your internal review IR 1282420.

The events leading up to our request for internal review were clearly displayed and we demonstrated why your reliance on S14(2) was invalid. We shall update the Information Commissioner accordingly as this information is still required.

Yours sincerely,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Updated ICO re IC-73689-D8M4

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Received notification from ICO that the department has incorrectly applied section 14(2) and that it should either provide us with the information or issue a fresh response without relying on section 14(2).

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1306478).

Yours sincerely, 

Le-anne Frankson
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc

 
 
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. file:///tmp/foiextract20210309-25538-4ol4z7#

hide quoted sections

Gemma Partridge

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

I'd like to again take this opportunity to again thank you for your response to FoI code FOI-1306478 in which you kindly provided advice and assistance by stating the meeting dates between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 were "26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.” When we asked you to therefore search on those days you claimed the information was exempt from release under Section 14(2). You were informed by the Information Commissioner that you had incorrectly applied section 14(2) {IC-73689-D8M4}. In response to this you then claimed the information was then exempt under Section 12(12). Claiming the searching for meeting meeting minutes across the dates states would exceed the cost limit.

Therefore we shall proceed by asking you to kindly provide a copy of the meeting minutes for the first date in which you stated that these meetings took place of 26th March 2020.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

9th March 2021 Updated ICO re IC-73689-D8M4

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Since we have not received an acknowledgement to our message containing an FoI request dated 9th March 2021 {https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n... we shall now repeat what we stated below.

I'd like to again take this opportunity to again thank you for your response to FoI code FOI-1306478 in which you kindly provided advice and assistance by stating the meeting dates between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 were "26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.” When we asked you to therefore search on those days you claimed the information was exempt from release under Section 14(2). You were informed by the Information Commissioner that you had incorrectly applied section 14(2) {IC-73689-D8M4}. In response to this you then claimed the information was then exempt under Section 12(12). Claiming the searching for meeting meeting minutes across the dates states would exceed the cost limit.

Therefore we shall proceed by asking you to kindly provide a copy of the meeting minutes for the first date in which you stated that these meetings took place of 26th March 2020.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

17th March 2021 Updated ICO re IC-73689-D8M4

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Ms Partridge

Yes, I can confirm that we received your request dated 9 March, and I apologise that we did not send you our automated acknowledgement of receipt, which was due to a technical error. The reference for your request dated 9 March is FOI 1313169.

Yours sincerely
Dorothy Crowe
FOI Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Gemma Partridge <[FOI #694595 email]>
Sent: 17 March 2021 13:34
To: FreedomofInformation <[DHSC request email]>
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - NHSX Apple and Google

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Since we have not received an acknowledgement to our message containing an FoI request dated 9th March 2021 {https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n... we shall now repeat what we stated below.

I'd like to again take this opportunity to again thank you for your response to FoI code FOI-1306478 in which you kindly provided advice and assistance by stating the meeting dates between NHSX and Google and NHSX and Apple in 2020 were "26 March, 10 April, 15 April, 19 April, 22 April, 27 April, 29 April, 4 May, 21 May, 4 June, 17 June, 22 June, 24 June.” When we asked you to therefore search on those days you claimed the information was exempt from release under Section 14(2). You were informed by the Information Commissioner that you had incorrectly applied section 14(2) {IC-73689-D8M4}. In response to this you then claimed the information was then exempt under Section 12(12). Claiming the searching for meeting meeting minutes across the dates states would exceed the cost limit.

Therefore we shall proceed by asking you to kindly provide a copy of the meeting minutes for the first date in which you stated that these meetings took place of 26th March 2020.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge

for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

-----Original Message-----

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response

to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1306478).

Yours sincerely,

Le-anne Frankson

Freedom of Information Team

Department of Health and Social Care

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #694595 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

hide quoted sections

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

17th March 2021 Updated ICO with second development re IC-73689-D8M4

Department of Health and Social Care

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Partridge,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1313169).

Yours sincerely, 

Le-anne Frankson
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

------------------------------------------------------------

Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc

 

 

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. file:///tmp/foiextract20210414-21148-137s3km#

hide quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Ref: FOI-1313169

Thanks very much for supplying us with this information.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
Stop UK lies and Corruption