FOI release

Freedom of Information request on the vaccine iDAPs (FOI 21/794)

Published 20 January 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-23-august-2021/freedom-of-information-request-on-the-vaccine-idaps-foi-21794

26th August 2021

FOI 21/794

Dear

Thank you for your FOI request dated July 9th where you requested the below regarding the publication of the vaccine iDAPs. Additionally, please accept our apologies for the late response to your request.

  1. Which individual or individuals have made the decision to not publish the above-mentioned iDAPs at the present time, whether this individual/these individuals is/are within the MHRA, the wider Department of Health and Social Care, or somewhere else in government, and on what grounds the decision was made.

  2. Which individual or individuals will make the eventual decision about when to go ahead and publish the above-mentioned iDAPs, and whether this individual/these individuals is/are within the MHRA, the wider Department of Health and Social Care, or somewhere else in government.
  3. Whether ministers were involved in the decision not to publish so far, and whether ministers will be involved in the decision to publish in the future, and in each case in what capacity (ie, ultimate decision-maker, consultee, or some other capacity)

With regards to question one, the MHRA are still considering the timing of the publication of the vaccine iDAPs and therefore this information is exempted as per section 35 of the Freedom of Information Act. Section 35 is a qualified exemption, which means that we have considered whether the public interest in releasing the information is outweighed by the public interest in not giving the information. The purpose of section 35 is to protect good government. It reflects and protects some longstanding constitutional conventions of government and preserves a safe space to consider policy options in private.

Questions two and three are also exempt as per section 35 as the MHRA do not hold the information on which individuals will be involved as this is a future decision and cannot provide information on this decision from a policy perspective.

I hope the information provided is helpful, but if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of this response; and can be addressed to this email address.

Yours Sincerely,

FOI Team,

Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division

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