Vaccine Status of Staff and Members

The request was successful.

Dear House of Commons Commission,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following:

1. The numbers of staff on the payroll, and whether they had an influenza vaccine in 2019 and 2020.
2. The numbers of elected members of the House of Commons, and whether they had an influenza vaccine in 2019 and 2020.

3. The information for the same groups in 1. and 2. that have received one and two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

4. If the House of Commons requires staff and members to inform the House authorities of covid tests and the details of the policy of requiring staff and elected members to take PCR tests.

Yours faithfully,

Robert John Park

FOI Commons, House of Commons Commission

Dear Mr Park,

 

Freedom of Information request F21-419

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 7 September 2021,
received by us on the same date, which is copied below.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 5 October 2021.

 

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted above and in the subject line of this email.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

 

[1]www.parliament.uk | [2]@ukparliament | [3]@houseofcommons

[4]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the Public

[5]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

 

 

From: Robert John Park <[FOI #789622 email]>
Sent: 07 September 2021 18:13
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Vaccine Status of Staff and
Members

 

Dear House of Commons Commission,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following:

1. The numbers of staff on the payroll, and whether they had an influenza
vaccine in 2019 and 2020.
2. The numbers of elected members of the House of Commons, and whether
they had an influenza vaccine in 2019 and 2020.

3. The information for the same groups in 1. and 2. that have received one
and two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

4. If the House of Commons requires staff and members to inform the House
authorities of covid tests and the details of the policy of requiring
staff and elected members to take PCR tests.

Yours faithfully,

Robert John Park

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

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[6][FOI #789622 email]

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Information requests to House of Commons Commission? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

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

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

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show quoted sections

FOI Commons, House of Commons Commission

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Park,

 

 

Freedom of Information Request F21-419

 

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You asked the
House of Commons four questions relating to the vaccination of MPs and
House staff, which we have sought to answer below.

 

 1. The numbers of staff on the payroll, and whether they had an influenza
vaccine in 2019 and 2020.

 

Some information is held by the House of Commons. At the time of your
request, there are 3,046 members of staff employed by the House of Commons
Administration.

 

The House of Commons does not hold records on which of our staff have had
influenza vaccines, as they are not required to report this information to
us.

 

 2. The numbers of elected Members of the House of Commons, and whether
they had an influenza vaccine in 2019 and 2020.

 

The number of MPs is held by the House of Commons, but also widely
available from public sources. This information is exempt from disclosure
in accordance with section 21(1) and (2)(a) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 (FOIA), which removes a public authority from the obligation to
provide access to information which is already in the public domain.  This
is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.

 

However, it may help you to know that the information can be found in
public libraries, a range of publications, a simple internet search and
our own web pages here:  [1]https://members.parliament.uk/members/co....

 

The House of Commons does not hold records on which MPs have had influenza
vaccines.  MPs are not employed by the House and we have no role in
monitoring or managing their healthcare arrangements.  You may wish to
contact MPs to request this information from them directly.  Contact
details for Members can be found on our website as detailed above. 
However, please note that MPs are not classified as public authorities in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and are therefore not
obliged to respond to requests for information.

 

 3. The information for the same groups in 1. and 2. that have received
one and two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

 

This information is not held by the House of Commons. As stated above, we
do not manage MPs’ healthcare arrangements and therefore hold no
information for this, and we also do not hold records on the vaccination
status of House staff.

 

 4. If the House of Commons requires staff and members to inform the House
authorities of covid tests and the details of the policy of requiring
staff and elected members to take PCR tests.

 

This information is held by the House of Commons. Neither House staff nor
MPs are required to inform the House of Commons if they have had a test
for Covid-19, nor is there any policy which requires them to do so.

 

It may help you to know that we do have a policy for House staff if they
take a test and get a positive result, or if they or someone in their
household experiences COVID-19 symptoms.

 

 

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an
internal review of any decision regarding your request.  Complaints or
requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Rights
and Information Security Service, Research & Information Team, House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AA or [2][House of Commons Commission request email].  Please ensure
that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review
along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.

 

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF,
[3]https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) 
House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA 
[4]parliament.uk
[5][IMG]

[6]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

[7]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

 

From:  [8][FOI #789622 email]
Sent: 07 September 2021 18:13
To: FOI Commons <[9][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Vaccine Status of Staff and
Members

 

Dear House of Commons Commission,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following:

1. The numbers of staff on the payroll, and whether they had an influenza
vaccine in 2019 and 2020.
2. The numbers of elected members of the House of Commons, and whether
they had an influenza vaccine in 2019 and 2020.

3. The information for the same groups in 1. and 2. that have received one
and two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

4. If the House of Commons requires staff and members to inform the House
authorities of covid tests and the details of the policy of requiring
staff and elected members to take PCR tests.

Yours faithfully,

Robert John Park

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[10][FOI #789622 email]

Is [11][House of Commons Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons Commission? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[12]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

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

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[14]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.

show quoted sections