Freedom of Information
Introduction
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out general exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.
Public authorities are defined in the Act and include Further Education institutions such as Brinsbury College.
The Act is intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies by providing people with rights of access to the information held by them. It is expected that these rights will facilitate better public understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend public money.
Requesting Information
If you wish to request details of information held about you by the College please use the Information Requests form.
Following your request, the College will contact you to verify that your credentials match those of the individual for whom you are requesting information.
Refusing a request
A request for information may be refused:
- If an exemption applies under legislation that prevents us from providing the information. A list of exemptions is available in the Freedom of Information Act, the exemptions can be found from sections 21 to 44
- If the cost of staff time and providing the information would exceed £450. The maximum staff time for answering requests is therefore 18 hours.
If we have to refuse your request we will tell you the reason for the refusal, including any exemptions that apply.
Timescales
Information that is readily available will be provided to you as quickly as possible.
A response will be sent to every request within 20 working days. This timescale may be extended under certain circumstances. If this happens you will however be notified of this and the estimated date of response.
If we are unsure what information you are requesting we will contact you to clarify your request. The 20 working days will then start from the date when the request is clarified.
Costs
We provide most documents free of charge. If a charge will be applied for the information you have requested you will be notified.