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What is an access to information request?
In theory, almost any written request for information
held by the University constitutes an access to information request under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Requests for information
can be made by any individual or organisation from anywhere in the world.
An enquirer is not obliged to cite the Act or to specifically mention
freedom of information. Nor is he or she under any legal obligation to
reveal why a particular piece of information is being requested. All routine
enquiries by letter and fax, and via e-mail, dealt with as a matter of
course on a daily basis in offices and departments across the University,
will, therefore, fall within the legal definition of an FOI access request.
In practice, it is neither feasible nor desirable
to formally identify simple enquiries, which can be handled straightforwardly
in the office where they are received, as FOI requests. Therefore, letters,
faxes and e-mails requesting, for example, public lecture programmes,
details of academic courses of study, qualification verification, copies
of the latest University prospectus or annual report etc. should continue
to be dealt with by the appropriate departments.
Under the terms of the Act the University is
entitled to charge a fee for providing information in response to an access
to information request. The government has set a cost limit for public
bodies and has published regulations on how the costs of dealing with
a request should be calculated. If the anticipated cost of an access request
exceeds £450, the University may decline to fulfil the request unless
the requestor agrees to pay the total estimated cost or chooses to modify
his/her enquiry. In cases where costs do not exceed the limit, the University
may charge printing, photocopying and postage costs.
The Act also places public bodies under a duty
to provide advice and assistance to those who intend to make, or have
already made, an access to information request. This means that it will
no longer be legally acceptable simply to inform applicants that the information
they have requested is not available at the point at which the request
was received. If the recipient of a request is not able to provide the
relevant information, as far as is reasonable, efforts should be made
to ensure that the enquirer is directed to the appropriate office, department
or external organisation.
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