Department of Health and Social Care

The complainant has requested from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) information about who it supplied personal protective equipment (PPE) to, the dates concerned, and the numbers per item for March 2020. The DHSC stated that it held the information but cited section 12(1) FOIA – that the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit. It later transpired that the DHSC did not in fact hold this information and the DHSC withdrew its reliance on section 12. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DHSC has breached section 1(1)(a) of the FOIA as it indicated it held the requested information but later concluded that it did not. The Commissioner does not require the DHSC to take any further steps.