Department of Health and Social Care

The complainant requested information from the Department of Health and Social Care (“the DHSC”) about a ‘blog’ published by the government, rebutting the contents of an article published in the Sunday Times. The DHSC confirmed that information was held, but refused the request under section 12(1) of the FOIA (exceeds appropriate cost). The Commissioner’s decision is that the DHSC has failed to demonstrate that section 12(1) of the FOIA is engaged. The Commissioner requires the DHSC to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: issue a fresh response to the request to the complainant, which does not rely on section 12(1) of the FOIA.