Freedom of Information

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is to give you the right to access information held by organisations that receive public funds, such as central government departments, local authorities, police forces, health services, schools, colleges and universities. The aim is to promote better public understanding of how these organisations carry out their duties, why and how they make the decisions they do and how they spend tax payers’ money.

Visit Barnsley College’s Policies and procedures page to view the Freedom of Information Policy.

How to make a request

If you have a freedom of information request, please email: foi@barnsley.ac.uk

Advice on submitting a request is available from the Information Commissioner.

Exemptions

The FOIA sets out a series of exemptions to protect confidential or other information where disclosure may prejudice the interests of the College or of third parties.

The act does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the cost of finding or copying the information would be disproportionately high. Similarly public authorities are not obliged to respond to vexatious or repeated requests. Public authorities are not expected to comply with requests for information unless the person making the request gives enough of a description to allow the information required to be identified.

The act also lists a number of exemptions to the right of access. Public authorities are not required to release information to which an exemption in the act legitimately applies. However, they may be required to explain to the applicant why they are not releasing information and they may also have to justify this to the Information Commissioner.

The exemptions include:

• information already accessible elsewhere – if this is the case, we will endeavour to direct you to the authority which holds the information
• information provided to us in confidence
• personal information – this is covered by the Data Protection Act and is only available to the individual concerned
• information which might endanger the physical or mental health or the personal safety of an individual or group of individuals
• information intended for future publication – if we are planning to publish this information, you may have to wait until it is published before you can access it
• information which would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of a public authority
• information which would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs
• certain exemptions are subject to a public interest test which means that public authorities may be required to release information if the public interest is deemed to outweigh any concerns that the public authority may have about making the information available

Further information about exempted information, including a full list of exemptions is available from the Information Commissioner.

If your request is refused, we will tell you why and identify which exemption we are applying.

Sources of advice

If you are unhappy about the way in which your request has been handled (usually if your request for information has been denied, in whole or in part), you should complain to the College in the first instance.

An internal review of your request will be undertaken by a senior manager who was not involved in handling your original request. Details of how to submit a request for an internal review will be provided in the letter setting out our original response.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint or internal review, you may apply to the Information Commissioner who will investigate the case and determine whether your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the act.

The Information Commissioner
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545700
Email: data@dataprotection.gov.uk
Website: www.ico.org.uk