Department of Health and Social Care
- Date 18 April 2023
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 12: Not upheld, FOI 16: Not upheld, FOI 17: Partly upheld
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is entitled to refuse the complainant’s two requests for information about the COVID Pass letters service under section 12 of FOIA. This is because the cost of complying with section 1 of FOIA in respect of the requests would exceed the appropriate limit. There was no breach of section 16(1), which concerns advice and assistance, but DHSC’s refusal of the request of 18 October 2022 breached section 17(5) as it was not provided within the required timescale. It is not necessary for DHSC to take any corrective steps.