FOI request to QMUL on how they decided it would take too long to release information on the PACE trial

[Esther12]

Only just seen this (I google less frequently than I used to):

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cfs_the_volume_of_objective_data#outgoing-766327

Only interesting for how little info they provide.

It seems that all that is needed for QMUL to decide that they should not release data from PACE is for one of the PIs to write in an e-mail that:

“Including the time I have spent already, this would take more than 18
hours to compile and then check the data that are requested.”

Bet they wish they'd thought of that get-out clause for Matthees' request.

I thought these were the key bits:

Queen Mary University of London has used s.12 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 on three occasions in relation to requests made by
yourself.

We have based this on a reasonable estimate of where and how the
information from the PACE trial is believed to be held and the time it
would take one person, with no prior knowledge, locating, retrieving and
extracting the relevant information. However, we have not recorded any
actual calculations, therefore the information you have requested is not
held. It does not matter how little data is requested (or how small the
file may be); at the current time Queen Mary University of London does not
have the ability to provide such information without exceeding the
appropriate limit.

Dear Kathryn Dickenson

We do not intend to carry out an internal review on this request as we are already carrying out one in relation to FOI 2017/F248.

Yours sincerely
Queen Mary University of London

We have undertaken a search as a result of the Information Commissioner’s
Office’s enquiries about our response to this request* and located a part
of an email from 01/06/2017, which is relevant and so is provided to you
here. This is from correspondence involving one of the Co-Principal
Investigators of the trial who are usually contacted when freedom of
information requests are received to determine whether the requested
information is held, etc.

“Including the time I have spent already, this would take more than 18
hours to compile and then check the data that are requested.”

This is all of the information held by Queen Mary University of London.

 

[Adrian]

I'm reminded of one FoI around the step test results for people who were claimed recovered. They turned the request down as it would take too long. But once they released some data it took me less than 2 hours to calculate including working out the details of their recovery measures. And that wasn't an intense two hours as I think it included making a meal and watching the football on TV.

The IoC doesn't seem to have the skills necessary to question QMUL about this. The MRC should also express concern because it is suggestive of bad data and code archive processes.