Department of Health and Social Care
- Date 16 April 2019
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 12(1): Upheld, FOI 16: Upheld, FOI 17(5): Upheld
The complainant has requested information from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) about the calculation of the concessionary prices of bicalatumide 50mg tablets and the manufacturers and wholesalers that provided the relevant information. The information was initially withheld by the DHSC under section 43(2) - commercial interests. At a much later date the internal review cited section 12(1) of the FOIA – the cost of compliance and withdrew its reliance on section 43(2). The Commissioner’s decision is that the DHSC has not demonstrated that compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit and is therefore not entitled to rely on section 12(1). The DHSC breached section 16 of the FOIA, as it failed to provide the complainant with advice and assistance in order to understand what information the complainant was seeking. The DHSC also failed to comply with section 17(5) in that it did not provide a refusal notice citing its reliance on section 12 within 20 working days of receiving the request. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation:
- Issue a fresh response to the request which does not rely on section 12(1) of the Act.