Information relating to Covid 19 Test Site in Dalkeith, Scotland

The request was partially successful.

Ruth Sutherland

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please provide the following:

1. A copy of the site risk assessment for the symptomatic Covid 19 test site in Ramsay Croft Car Park, Dalkeith, Scotland.
2. A copy of the site selection criteria for Covid 19 Test sites issued by the UK Department of Health and Social Care issued to Scottish Local Authorities in February 2021.
3. The daily number of symptomatic patients attending appointments at the Covid 19 test site in Ramsay Croft Car Park, Dalkeith, since 21 May 2021 to date.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Ruth Sutherland

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
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If your enquiry is in relation to the pandemic, the Government has
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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
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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://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
6. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
7. https://www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk/en/r...
8. https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/r...
9. https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/coronavi...
10. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Ruth Sutherland

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Thank you for your reply. I have looked at all of the 11 links that you supplied, unfortunately none of them provide the information that I have asked for in my Freedom of Information request.

Yours faithfully,

Ruth Sutherland

Department of Health and Social Care

2 Attachments

Dear Mrs Sutherland,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1335452).

Yours sincerely, 

Piper Hewitt-Dudding
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Ruth Sutherland

Dear Piper Hewitt-Dudding of the Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for your reply and for supplying the information I requested in Part 3 of my FOI request.

I am pleased that you have the documents that I asked for in Parts 1 and 2 of my FOI request.

I fully understand that you are unable to release commercially sensitive information. Please send me the documents, with anything commercially sensitive redacted.

I am interested in the Covid 19 risk from the Dalkeith Test Site to close residents, their family and friends, and the public: this information will most certainly meet your public interest definition.

Yours sincerely,

Ruth Sutherland

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mrs Sutherland

Thank you for your email. Please confirm if you would like us to handle your request as an Internal Review of our response to FOI-1335452.

Yours sincerely
Dorothy Crowe
FOI team

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Ruth Sutherland

Dear Freedom of Information,

I confirm that I would like the FOI team to handle my request as an Internal Review. Reference FOI-1335452.

Yours sincerely,

Ruth Sutherland

Dear FreedomofInformation,

On 2nd July 2021 I asked you to conduct an internal review into my request reference FOI-1335452. This was 30 working days ago and I understand that you should endeavour to reply within 20 working days. Please confirm that you are conducting your internal review, and let me know what date I should expect to receive your response.

Yours sincerely,

Ruth Sutherland

Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mrs Sutherland,

I apologise for the delay in you receiving a response to your internal
review request for FOI-1335452 (our ref:IR-1342884).

Due to high volumes, the Department of Health and Social Care is still
considering your request and we will respond as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, 

Ed Franklyn
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

On 2nd July 2021 I asked you to conduct an internal review into my request reference FOI-1335452 (Your Ref: IR-1342884). This was 111 working days ago and I understand that you should endeavour to reply within 20 working days. Your own guidance states that “in no case should the total time taken exceed 40 working days”. By law, under all circumstances, you should have responded by now. Please confirm that you are conducting your internal review, and let me know what date I should expect to receive your response.

Yours faithfully,

Ruth Sutherland

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Mrs Sutherland,
 
Your requested internal review of FOI-1335452 is now complete. Please see
the attached letter for the outcome.
Yours sincerely,
 
Ed Franklyn
FOI Internal Reviews
Department of Health & Social Care
 

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Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for sending me the outcome of your internal review. You have concluded that you do hold documents containing information pertinent to my request, but you are withholding the information on the grounds that it is commercially sensitive.
In my request for an internal review I stated, on 2 July 2021:
"I fully understand that you are unable to release commercially sensitive information. Please send me the documents, with anything commercially sensitive redacted".
You have ignored the part of my request that refers to the option of redacting. You have stated that the documents are in the public interest. It is unreasonable to say that the entire contents of the documents are commercially sensitive. Please send me the documents that you hold which contain the information pertinent to my request, and redact any sentences that are commercially sensitive.

Yours faithfully,

Ruth Sutherland

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Ruth Sutherland,

Thank you for your email.

If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. The ICO can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

https://ico.org.uk/concerns

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

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Information Rights,

7 Attachments

Dear Ruth Sutherland,
We are resending this response as our email sent at 11:43 received a 'not
delivered' reply from whatdotheyknow.com. 
whatdotheyknow advise that your request has now been reopened on
whatdotheyknow.com.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights Team
Parliamentary and Public Accountability Team
UK Health Security Agency
[1][email address
[2]www.gov.uk/ukhsa  Follow us on Twitter @UKHSA

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: Information Rights <[email address]>
Sent: 07 November 2022 11:43
To: [FOI #763154 email]
<[FOI #763154 email]>
Cc: icocasework <[email address]>; Information Rights
<[email address]>
Subject: 878 (JS) re: ICO Case Reference: IC-153222-K0T9
 
Dear Ruth Sutherland,
Please find attached UKHSA's response to ICO Case Reference:
IC-153222-K0T9.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights Team
Parliamentary and Public Accountability Team
UK Health Security Agency
[3][email address
[4]www.gov.uk/ukhsa  Follow us on Twitter @UKHSA

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

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References

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mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.gov.uk/ukhsa
3. [email address]
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4. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Ruth Sutherland left an annotation ()

I have received the following reply from the ICO, concluding their internal review.

13 December 2022
Our reference: IC-153222-K0T9
Dear Ruth Sutherland,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Your FOIA request to the Department of Health and Social Care about covid-19 test sites.
I write further to our phone call of 9 December 2022. Thank you for taking the time to discuss this case with me. I’ll now outline where we’re up to with each part of your request.
Your request
On 6 June 2021 you requested the following information:
“1. A copy of the site risk assessment for the symptomatic covid-19 test site in Ramsay Croft car park, Dalkeith, Scotland.
2. A copy of the site collection criteria for covid-19 test sites issued by the UK Department of Health and Social Care issued to Scottish local authorities in February 2021.
3. The daily number of symptomatic patients attending appointments at the covid-19 test site in Ramsay Croft car park, Dalkeith, since 21 May 2021 to date.”
On 1 July 2021 the DHSC responded to your request. It confirmed that specific information was being withheld, in response to your request, under section 43(2) (commercial interests). It failed to specify whether it was applying section 43(2) to part 1 or part 2 of your request or both.
It disclosed information in response to part 3 of your request and explained that ‘testing sites do not distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic attendees.’ Part 3 of your request is therefore dealt with.
Once the Commissioner got involved this case was referred to the UKHSA. The UKHSA reviewed the handling of this case and determined that the DHSC was incorrect to withhold any information under section 43(2).
On 7 December 2022 the UKHSA disclosed to you information relating to the Ramsay Croft site. Third party data was redacted under section 40(2) (personal information) and the Commissioner is satisfied that the UKHSA should withhold this information. Therefore, part 1 of your request has now also been dealt with.
On 7 December 2022 the UKHSA also informed you that it did not hold information relevant to part 2 of your request, ‘A copy of the site collection criteria for covid-19 test sites issued by the UK Department of Health and Social Care issued to Scottish local authorities in February 2021.’ At my request, the UKHSA made enquiries with the DHSC who also confirmed that this information was not held.
It appears that such a document has never existed. We were led to believe it did because the DHSC originally responded to your request by disclosing information relevant to part 3 of your request, and confirming it was withholding further information. It should have specified, from the beginning, that the information you were requesting in part 2 of your request was not held because such a document does not exist.
When a public authority receives a request for information it must do two things: first it must ascertain whether it holds the information and second it must consider whether an exemption would apply to that information. I have fed back to my manager the fact that the DHSC appear to have jumped to the second task, without completing the first. However, we do consider that part 2 of your request has now been dealt with; both the DHSC and the UKHSA have confirmed that no such document exists.
Because there’s no outstanding part of your request to be looked at, we’re going to close this case. Thank you for your continued cooperation and patience. If you have any queries or further concerns, please let me know by 20 December 2022. You can either respond to this email or you can contact me on 0330 313 1879.
Yours sincerely,
Alice Gradwell Senior Case Officer Information Commissioner’s Office
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