Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
www.gov.uk/dhsc
Sam Ward
By email to:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
5 March 2024
Dear Sam,
Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI-1493306
Thank you for your request dated 5 February to the Department of Health and Social Care
(DHSC), a copy of which can be found in the accompanying annex.
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying.
Regarding your first question, DHSC holds the information you have requested.
As the Chief Coroner has published DHSC’s response to the Prevention of Future Death
(PFD) report, and it is in the public domain, we will, under section 21 of the FOIA
(information accessible to the applicant by other means), refer you to the published
source.
The Report and the responses have been published on the Judiciary website he
re John
Abrahams: Prevention of future deaths report - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. It may help if we explain that the publication of PFD reports is a matter for the Chief
Coroner under the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 and not a matter for DHSC.
DHSC would not publish anything further to what has been published by the Chief
Coroner.
Reports are published by the Chief Coroner on the Courts and Judiciary website at
www.judiciary.uk/courts-and-tribunals/coroners-courts/reports-to-prevent-future-deaths,
and guidance on the publication of these reports can be found here
: www.judiciary.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2021/11/PFD-publication-policy-9-11-21.pdf. If you have any questions on the information published by the Chief Coroner, including the
redactions to the documents which the Chief Coroner’s office has made, you will need to
contact its office directly.
Regarding your second question, DHSC holds the information you have requested.
We are mindful of the statutory responsibilities in relation to PFD reports and continue to
prioritise these for response.
However, on this occasion DHSC was not able to comply
with the statutory deadline.
PFD reports play a valuable role in drawing matters of concern to the attention of the
government, its agencies, and others to determine what appropriate action should be
taken if necessary. DHSC ensures that relevant regulators and other bodies are aware of
the matters of concern brought to its attention, so that the system can respond as
appropriate.
The matters of concern raised by the Coroner in this report were, in the main, for the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to address and MHRA
has done so in a detailed response issued to the Coroner on 3 May 2023. DHSC’s
response acknowledged the actions taken by MHRA in the response issued to the Coroner
on 26 June 2023.
If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to appeal by
asking for an internal review. This should be sent to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or
to the address at the top of this letter and be submitted within two months of the date of
this letter.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communication.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly
to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Generally, the ICO cannot make a
decision unless you have already appealed our original response and received our internal
review decision. You should raise your concerns with the ICO within three months of your
last meaningful contact with us.
Guidance on contacting the ICO can be found at
https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us and
information about making a complaint can be found a
t https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Annex
From: Sam Ward <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 12:13 AM
To: FreedomofInformation <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - PFD notice for Jack Abrahams
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Under the FOI act I would like to be sent a copy of the response from the the DHSC to
the Prevention of Future Death notice issued by Coroner Catherine McKenna with regards
to the death of John(Jack) Abrahams.
I would also like to know why the response was not within the obligated timeframe?
Yours faithfully,
Sam Ward
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
