Freedom of Information

Context

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives individuals the right to access official information from public bodies. Under the Act, any person has a legal right to ask for access to information held by the College. They are entitled to be told whether the College holds the information and to receive a copy, subject to certain exemptions. While the Act assumes openness, it recognises that certain information is sensitive. There are exemptions to protect this information.
This policy does not form part of any individual’s terms and conditions of employment with the College and is not intended to have contractual effect.

Requests

Requests under Freedom of Information should be made to the Headteacher.

Requests for information that are not data protection or environmental information requests will be covered by the Freedom of Information Act: -
Data Protection enquiries (or Subject Access Requests) are requests where the enquirer asks to see what personal information the College holds about the enquirer. If the enquiry is a Data Protection request, the College Data Protection Policy will be followed.

Environmental Information Regulations enquiries are those which relate to air, water, land, natural sites, built environment, flora and fauna, and health, and any decisions and activities affecting any of these. These could therefore include enquiries about recycling, phone masts, College playing fields, car parking etc. If the enquiry is about environmental information, the guidance on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website will be followed.

Freedom of Information requests must be made in writing, (including email) and should include the enquirers name and correspondence address (email addresses are allowed) stating the information required. There must be enough information in the request to be able to identify and locate the information. If this information is covered by the legislation referenced above then this will be dealt with following the policy related to that request.

If the request is ambiguous and the College requires further information in order to deal with this request, then further information will be required from the individual making the request. Please note that the College does not have to deal with the request until the further information is received. Therefore, the time limit starts from the date that all the information has been received in order to deal with the request.

The requester does not have to mention the Act, nor do they have to say why they want the information. There is a duty to respond to all requests, telling the enquirer whether or not the information is held and supplying any information that is held, except where exemptions apply. There is a time limit of 20 working days excluding College holidays for responding to the request.

Information

Provided all requirements are met for a valid request to be made, the College will provide the information that it holds (unless an exemption applies).
“Holding” information means information:
• That the College has created; or
• Has received from another body or person; or
• Is held by another body on behalf of the College.

Information means both hard copy and digital information, including email.

If the information is held by another public authority, such as the Local Authority, then the request should be made to them. If this applies, the College will notify the enquirer that they do not hold the information. If the College does not hold the information, it has no duty to create or acquire it; just to answer the enquiry, although a reasonable search will be made before confirming whether the College has the information requested. If the information requested is already in the public domain, for instance through the Publication Scheme or on the College website, then the enquirer will be directed to the information and how to access it. The requester has the right to be told if the College, subject to any of the exemptions, holds the information requested. This obligation is known as the College’s “duty to confirm or deny” that it holds the information. However, the College does not have to confirm or deny if;

• The exemption is an absolute exemption; or
• In the case of qualified exemptions, confirming or denying would itself disclose exempted information.

Vexatious Requests

There is no obligation for the College to comply with vexatious requests. A vexatious request is one that is designed to cause inconvenience, harassment or expense rather than to obtain information and would require a substantial diversion of resources or would otherwise undermine the work of the College. In addition, the College does not have to comply with repeated identical or substantially similar requests from the same applicant unless a “reasonable” interval has elapsed between requests.

Fees

A fee may be charged dependent on whether the staffing costs in complying with the request exceeds the threshold. The threshold is currently £450 with staff costs calculated at a fixed rate of £25 per hour and therefore 18 hours’ work is required before the threshold is reached. If a request would cost less than the threshold, then the College will only charge for the cost of informing the applicant whether the information is held and communicating the information to the applicant e.g. photocopying, printing and postage costs. If a request would cost more than the appropriate limit, (£450) the College can turn the request down, answer and charge a fee or answer and waive the fee. If a fee is to be charged, the enquirer will be notified. The request does not have to be complied with until the fee has been paid. More details on fees can be found on the ICO website.

Time Limits

Compliance with a request must be within the time limit of 20 working days (excluding College holidays).
Where the enquirer has been notified that a charge is to be made, the time period stops until payment is received.
Third Party Data
Consultation of third parties may be required if their interests could be affected by release of the information requested and any such consultation may influence the decision.
Consultation will be necessary where:
Disclosure of information may affect the legal rights of a third party, such as the right to have certain information treated in confidence or rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

• the views of the third party may assist the College to determine if information is exempt from disclosure; or
• the views of the third party may assist the College to determine the public interest test.

Personal information requested by third parties is also exempt under this policy where release of that information would breach the Data Protection Act.

If a request is made for a document e.g. Governing Body minutes which contains personal information whose release to a third party would breach the Data Protection Act, the document may be issued by blanking out the relevant personal information as set out in the redaction procedure.

Exemptions

The presumption of the Freedom of Information Act is that the College will disclose information unless the Act provides a specific reason to withhold it. The Act recognises the need to preserve confidentiality and protect sensitive material in certain circumstances.

The College may refuse all/part of a request, if one of the following applies: -
• There is an exemption to disclosure within the act;
• The information sought is not held;
• The request is considered vexatious or repeated; or
• The cost of compliance exceeds the threshold.

There are two general categories of exemptions:-
• Absolute: where there is no requirement to confirm or deny that the information is held, disclose the information or consider the public interest; and
• Qualified: where, even if an exemption applies, there is a duty to consider the public interest in disclosing information.

Absolute Exemptions

There are eight absolute exemptions set out in the Act. However the following are the only absolute exemptions which will apply to the College;

• Information accessible to the enquirer by other means e.g. by way of the College Publication Scheme;
• Court Records;
• Personal information i.e. information which would be covered by the Data Protection Act;
• Information provided in confidence.

If an absolute exemption exists, it means that disclosure is not required by the Act. However, a decision could be taken to ignore the exemption and release the information taking into account all the facts of the case if it is felt necessary to do so.

Qualified Exemptions

If one of the exemptions below apply there is also a duty to consider the public interest in confirming or denying that the information exists and in disclosing information.

The qualified exemptions under the Act which are applicable to the College are: -
• Information requested is intended for future publication and it is reasonable in all the circumstances for the requester to wait until such time that the information is actually published;
• Release of the information is likely to prejudice any actual or potential legal action or formal investigation involving the College;
• Law enforcement i.e. if disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime, the prosecution of offenders or the administration of justice;
• Release of the information would prejudice the ability of the College to carry out an effective audit of its accounts, resources and functions;
• For Health and Safety purposes;
• Information requested is Environmental information;
• Information requested is subject to Legal professional privilege; and
• For “Commercial Interest” reasons.

Refusal

If it is decided to refuse a request, a refusals notice will be sent containing;

• Which exemption(s) apply;
• Why the exemption(s) apply to this enquiry;
• Reasons for refusal; and
• The College complaints procedure.

For monitoring purposes and in case of an appeal against a decision not to release the information or an investigation by the Information Commissioner, a record will be kept of all enquiries where all or part of the requested information is withheld and exemptions are claimed. The record will include the reasons for the decision to withhold the information.
Complaints/Appeals If the original decision or action is upheld by the Governing Body, then the applicant can appeal to the Information Commissioner. The appeal can be made via their website or in writing to:

Customer Contact, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF