Freedom of Information request on information regarding COVID-19 (FOI 22/549)
Published 1 June 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-responses-from-the-mhra-week-commencing-14-march-2022/freedom-of-information-request-on-information-regarding-covid-19-foi-22549
FOI 22/549
17th March 2022
Dear
Thank you for your emails of 21 February.
We have received a total of 10 requests from you and have been responding to you as quickly and as informatively as we can. However, in the last month we have received from you 5 requests which we are amalgamating and treating under FOI 22/549.
The Freedom of Information Act places a general duty on public authorities to give access to official information. However, the Act also provides an exemption to that duty under Section 14 (1) where a public authority considers the request to be vexatious. The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance on how to interpret this exemption, and one of the criteria to consider is that of frequent and overlapping requests. We judge that your combined requests fall into this category and as such we are refusing under Section 14 (1).
If you disagree with how we have interpreted the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in answering your request, you can ask for an internal review. Please reply to this email, within two months of this reply, specifying that you would like an Internal Review to be carried out.
Please note that we regularly update our website with information regarding COVID-19 and our work in this area:
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you were to remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you would have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please bear in mind that the Information Commissioner will not normally review our handling of your request unless you have first contacted us to conduct an internal review. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
MHRA Customer experience Centre
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU