Handling Requests
Who is responsible for responding to FOI requests?
The Information Security Team in ISS takes responsibility for coordinating and responding to FOI requests. However, any member of staff who holds information that has been requested may be asked to provide that information and assist with producing the response.
What if a request is not clear?
If it isn’t clear exactly what information the requester is asking for, then we are expected to get in touch with them and ask them to clarify. In such cases the '20 working day clock' does not start until the clarification is received.
If the University receives a FOI request but does not want to release the information, what can be done?
The Act establishes a general right of access to all of the University's recorded information so in most cases the information will be disclosed. However, there are a number of exemptions within the Act that may prevent us from releasing certain information. This can include personal information, commercially-sensitive information and information that was provided to us in confidence.
Can we charge for FOI requests?
Generally, we must respond to FOI requests without charge. We may be able to reclaim the costs of reasonable disbursements, such as printing, photocopying or postage, but this is only done on very rare occasions where we would incur significant costs in responding to the request.
The Freedom of Information Act does also allow public authorities to decline requests for information where complying with the request exceeds the appropriate cost limit which is specified in the Fees Regulations.
The costs which can be taken into account include staff time required to locate, retrieve and extract the information that has been requested. We cannot include staff time taken on other aspects of the request, such as consideration of exemptions. The cost limit is £450, and staff time must be calculated at £25 per hour, so requests can be refused if it would take us longer than 18 hours to collate the information.
If we refuse a request because it exceeds the costs limit, we have a legal duty to provide reasonable advice and assistance to the requester, to enable them to narrow down their request so that it no longer exceeds the £450 limit.
If I receive an FOI request for information that I do not want to make available, can I opt to destroy it rather than hand a copy over?
No. It is a criminal offence to destroy, obscure or erase material in an attempt to deliberately prevent disclosure when a valid FOI request has been received.
