Any evidence of DHSC working with Apple and Google

The request was successful.

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Background: In June 2020 Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated with reference to a contact-tracing app "We have agreed to join forces with Apple and Google" .

FoI request: If they exist, please kindly supply the source(s) which back up/confirm the above statement, including the job title(s) of the person(s) he was referring to when he said "We" (ie who is "we").

We are attempting to confirm the accuracy of the statement since Apple have come out and said they don't know anything about it as the UK Government has not spoken to any Apple staff.

Sources for public reference:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5310...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/m...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

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...

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 'Any evidence of DHSC working with Apple and Google'.

We understand there will 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. The purpose of the internal review will be for you to look into when the information we requested will be supplied.

Reminder of your duty under 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.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

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.

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

show quoted sections

Dear FreedomofInformation,

In response to your message saying there will be no internal review and that your team will respond in due course. Pardon me, but I think your understanding of the FoIA is a little backwards. I shall explain why I say this below.

It is true that authorities are under no legal obligation to conduct an internal review - it is merely considered "good practice" to do so, Section 45 as I recall.

However Section 10 tells us authorities ARE legally obligated to respond to a valid request for information within 20 working days, but yours has not done this. The Information Commissioner will not take up a case at such a point though. She says an internal review "MUST" be requested.

Therefore, if the authority was to then state (as you have done) that it would not be conducting an internal review at this time, this satisfies the ICO criteria for them to take up the matter right away.

The FoIA does not expect requesters to sit around for X period of time in the hope authorities eventually issue a valid response, without recourse.

Therefore, having indicated that you shall not be completing an internal review at this time, we shall now take the matter up with the Information Commissioner.

Naturally, should your team provide a valid response before they take action we shall inform them of this.

Good day to you.

Yours sincerely,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Reported to ICO.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

IC-66745-W3Z7 ICO has asked department to respond within 10 working days or a decision note will be issued.

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-1259005).

Yours sincerely, 

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

show quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thanks for the information which satisfies this particular request.

Yours faithfully,

Gemma Partridge
for Stop UK lies and Corruption.

Gemma Partridge left an annotation ()

Updated ICO as we've received the information.