Lockdown amendment

The request was refused by Department of Health and Social Care.

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 were, in part, intended "to clarify that under regulation 6(1), the prohibition applies both to leaving the place where a person is living without reasonable excuse, and also to staying outside that place without reasonable excuse".

Please disclose an electronic copy of all recorded information you hold regarding this particular amendment.

Yours faithfully,
Gabriel Kanter-Webber

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 daysif your query is a Freedom of
Information request or complaint.

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

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 [5]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/government/organisati...

Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr Kanter-Webber,

Thank you for your request of 22 April 2020 under the Freedom of
Information Act (Ref: FOI-1218242).

I am writing to inform you that the Department's consideration of the
balance of the public interest with regards to your request is not yet
complete and requires further time to complete in line with Section 10(3)
of the FOI Act.
 
The Department is currently assessing the public interest in release under
Section 35(1)(a) - the formulation or development of government policy.
 
We anticipate this process will take no longer than a further 20 working
days to complete.  We therefore aim to respond fully to your request by 19
June 2020.
 
Please accept my apologies for this delay.

Yours sincerely

Le-Anne Frankson
Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Health and Social Care

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.

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Fair enough.

Yours faithfully,

G Kanter-Webber

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Kanter-Webber,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1218242) 

Yours sincerely,

 Le-anne Frankson 

Freedom of Information team
Department of Health and Social Care

show quoted sections

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please conduct an internal review. There are two factors, in particular, which strongly tip the balance of the public interest in favour of disclosure:

1. The lockdown regulations are by far the most restrictive piece of legislation ever enacted in this country, interfering with virtually every human right in the European Convention. The specific amendment about which my request is enquiring made them yet more restrictive. The importance in transparency about how decisions are reached is therefore increased.

2. The amendment was passed using an "urgent" procedure (albeit there is no clarity what the urgency was) without Parliamentary debate or scrutiny. Had it been debated in Parliament, the reasoning behind each provision would have been fully explained and explored. As it is, this didn't happen, so the public interest in the disclosure of the reasoning - outside Parliament - is therefore increased.

Yours faithfully
G Kanter-Webber

PS: we both know that you're going to maintain your refusal without even really thinking it over, so my preference would be that you do so speedily so that we can then progress the matter towards the ICO and the Tribunal.

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...

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Mr Kanter-Webber,

I apologise for the length of time it has taken to carry out your requested internal review of FOI-1218242.

The Department of Health and Social Care aims to respond to requests for internal reviews within 20 working days. You therefore would have expected to receive our response on 1 July 2020.

Unfortunately, the Department's response is not yet complete. We will update you as soon as possible, and no later than 29 July.

Please accept my apologies for this delay.

Yours sincerely,

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

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G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene,

I'm not surprised.

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation,

It’s well past 29 July now, so unless you get back to me by the end of the day I’ll forward this to the ICO.

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation,

I've complained to the ICO.

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation,

Just a reminder that you need to let me know the outcome of your internal review.

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation,

Just a reminder that you need to let me know the outcome of your internal review at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation

FOI-1218242. Update please.

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene

FOI-1218242. Update please.

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene Carter

FOI-1218242. Update please.

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene

FOI-1218242. Update please...

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene

FOI-1218242. Update please....

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear Charlene

FOI-1218242. Update please.....

Yours sincerely

G Kanter-Webber

Dear FreedomofInformation,

Update please

Yours sincerely,

G Kanter-Webber

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Kanter-Webber,

I apologise for the length of time it has taken to carry out your requested internal review of FOI-1218242.

The review is now complete. Please see the attached letter for the outcome.

Yours sincerely,

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

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