FOI quick guide for staff

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives individuals the right to request information from the University.

To help the University comply with the law, please remember:

• Any written request (including by email) for pre-existing recorded information is likely to be covered by the FOIA.  (A separate piece of legislation, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, provides a similar albeit formally separate regime for the handling of information requests on environmental topics.)

• Most FOI requests are sent directly to the University FOI Officer but there is no obligation for requesters to follow this accepted route which means that all staff should be alert to the possibility that they might themselves receive, and need to take action upon, requests.

• The University must respond within twenty working days to any written request for information that it holds.  All weekends and bank holidays, but no other days, are considered non-working days regardless of whether parts of the University are open on a particular day or not.

• If you receive a written request for information and you are able to help in the course of routine business, or to direct the requester to information published on the University's website, please do so promptly.

• If you receive a written request for information and you are in any doubt about its nature, or how to respond, please contact the University's Information Compliance Office.