Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Freedom of Information requests received by his Department have been sent to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House on Freedom of Information requests for advice on handling in each of the last 12 months.

The information requested is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Department has occasionally referred Freedom of Information requests to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House for advice on handling in accordance with referral criteria which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information