16th April 2025 

Case Reference: IC-348495-Z3P1 

“Thank you for your email of 7 April 2025. I will write to UKHSA to ask them to comply fully with the DN steps, and I'll also speak to my manager about referring this case to our legal team for action”. 

Yours sincerely,

Information Commissioner's Office

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

T. 0330 313 1735 ico.org.uk twitter.com/iconews  

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7th April 2025 to the ICO

Re: Decision Notice of 5th March 2025 – Reference IC-348495-Z3P1

In your Decision Notice of 5th March 2025, you upheld my complaint against the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

As a result, you required the UKHSA to “disclose the requested outbreak report and the information requested in points one, three, five, six and seven of the request”.  You required the UKHSA to provide this information to me within 30 calendar days.

I have now received the attached response from UKHSA dated 2nd April 2025.  As you can see, they have provided answers to points one, three, five, six and seven.  This consisted of information they had largely previously published.

However, they have failed to provide me with a copy of the outbreak report and more importantly failed to publish the report on the UKHSA website which they have previously stated they would.  Instead the UKHSA have stated “the report is currently in the final publishing process and will be shared with you as soon as it is published in the coming weeks”.

I am concerned that the UKHSA have failed to comply with the deadline provided in the Decision Notice.  As you will be aware, the UKHSA have stated a number of times in the past that they would be publishing the report in the near future but then haven’t.  I am concerned that this will happen again, especially as they do not identify a particular date by when the information will be provided.

In paragraph 4 of the Decision Notice, you stated “Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and be dealt with as contempt of court”.

I am writing to you to request that you now take this action.