The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) provide public access to information held by the University and any other public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The FOI Act and EIRs covers any recorded information the University holds, such as printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings.
The University provides access to information by:
The Legal Office will process all FOI and EIRs requests received by the University, but it is everybody’s responsibility to keep information you need and decide if you need to:
Requests for information under FOIA should be forwarded to the Legal office immediately, as the University has only 20 days to release the requested information.
The FOI Act does not give people access to their own personal data (information about themselves). If a member of staff or student (including ex-staff or students) wants to see information the University holds about them, they should make a data protection subject access request by emailing: DPO@beds.ac.uk
Answering information requests can be a time-consuming process. While it obviously important to keep information you need, you should review the information you keep in line with the following considerations:
Remember; these considerations are particularly important when stored information is of a personal nature. Please refer to Data Protection and Security pages for more information.
The Governance and Planning department publishes a Records Retention Schedule, which provides guidance for how long different classes of Records should be kept for. This list, and the off-site archiving of document classes contained on it, can be accessed through the Records Management pages
The Legal Office provides training on courses in Freedom of Information, Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and Data Protection. These are online, and face-to-face training in Luton and Bedford.
For more information on what the training covers or If your department would like briefings for team meetings etc. please email: legaloffice@beds.ac.uk
FOIA & EIR's Frequently asked questions
The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a wide-ranging right to see all kinds of information held by public authorities.
Yes, we are included in the definition of a ‘public body’ for the purpose of FOIA, so are the Police, local authorities, NHS bodies, central government departments and agencies etc.
The FOI Act and EIRs apply to any recorded information held by or on behalf of an authority. This includes paper records, emails, information stored on computer, audio or video cassettes, microfiche, maps, photographs, handwritten notes or any other form of recorded information. Unrecorded information which is known or not recorded is not covered.
The age of the information is irrelevant. The new rights apply to information recorded at any time, including information obtained before the FOI Act or EIRs came into force.
Anyone who destroys a record after it is asked for, in order to prevent its disclosure, would commit a criminal offence. But it is not an offence to destroy records which have not been requested.
Anybody, as long as they submit a request in writing with a name and an address to reply to. However, this cannot be a made up name or an invalid email address.
In summary; if the request falls outside your normal day-to-day duties, you should forward it legaloffice@beds.ac.uk or DPO@beds.ac.uk as soon as possible. The University has a 20 days in which to answer these requests, so it is essential that this is done immediately and preferably by email.
If you receive a forwarded request from the Legal Office, please respond as soon as possible. If you do not have the information, it is important that you let us know the circumstances.
Yes, there are certain exemptions in the Acts that allows the University to withhold information or refuse to respond if the request is vexatious.
Requests under EIR are about:
If you receive a request for any of the information listed above please forward to LegalOffice@beds.ac.uk
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
The ICO’s website contains helpful information and resources covering;