FOI Basics
What is the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act?
The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) gives individuals a general right of access to recorded information that is "held" by public authorities (this includes universities) and places a duty on these bodies to be open and accountable to the public.
What is an FOI request?
An FOI request is a request for recorded information that is held by the University. All that the applicant needs do is to provide a name and address along with their request. Requests can be made via post, email or fax, and they can come from anyone and from anywhere in the world. The applicant does not have to mention the Act or explain why they want the information. We must respond in full within 20 working days.
What does the Act mean by 'recorded information'?
All information that the University holds in permanent form, such as on computerised systems, in filing cabinets, on PCs, in e-mails or hand-written notes.
Can I avoid information being caught by the Act by taking work home?
No. Geographical location is not a factor in deciding whether information is 'held' by the University or not. If you take work home then that information is covered by the Act, in the same way as if it were 'held' within a University office.
When is a request received by the University?
A freedom of information request is received when it is delivered to the University, or when it is delivered to the inbox of a member of staff. So for emails, the 20 working day countdown begins the day after a freedom of information request is delivered to your inbox. An important implication of this is that requests that are emailed to staff whilst they are on holiday will either be picked up late or, in some cases, the deadline may pass without anyone even being aware that a request has been received.
However, the Information Commissioner takes the view that where an automated out of office message provides instructions to an applicant on how to re-direct their message, the request will not have been received by the University until it is re-sent to the alternative contact.
To meet this requirement, you could add the following to the end of your standard out of office message:
"If your enquiry is a Freedom of Information request please re-direct your enquiry to rec-man@ncl.ac.uk"
