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How Do I Make An Information Request?On this page:
Information access legislationThe University of Edinburgh is bound by a number of different access regimes which give you the right to request recorded information held by the University.
These information regimes give you the right to request any “recorded information”. Recorded information is information that the University currently holds, in any format (including paper, microfiche, video, and electronic formats), no matter when it was created. However, if the University does not hold the information you seek it does not have to find or generate new information. How do I make an information request?Contact the University, giving your contact details, and describing the information you want. If you are requesting information under the Scottish Freedom of Information Act or the Scottish Environmental Information Regulations, it may already be published in our publication scheme. You may obtain the information you want more quickly if you check the publication scheme before you make an information request. How do I contact the University?Please send your request to the Records Management Section:
How much detail do I need to give?To assist us with locating the information you would like as quickly as possible, please provide as much detail as you can about the information you would like. If your request relates to specific documents, please provide any details of the document you may have (e.g. date of production, author etc) and its likely location (e.g. the relevant staff member, office or School). If you are requesting personal information under the Data Protection Act, please note that unfortunately we cannot answer enquiries that ask to see all the information the University has about you, as this is too general a request for us to be able to find the information you want. The University has over 6,000 staff spread over a large number of academic and administrative departments, most of which you will not have had any dealings with, and, without more detailed information we do not know which ones to contact about your request. Information that will help us answer your request includes:
If your request is unclear, or it is not possible to identify the information requested from your original description, we will contact you to ask for further clarification. Do I have to pay?Different charging regimes apply, depending on whether you are requesting information under the Data Protection Act, the Scottish Freedom of Information Act or the Scottish Environmental Information Regulations. You will be advised at the time, but please note that your request will not be processed until we have received any payment that is required. If you are confident that your request falls under the Data Protection Act, please include a cheque for £10 made payable to the "University of Edinburgh". This is the standard fee set by the Information Commissioner for answering subject access requests. When can I expect to hear back?We will answer requests for personal information made under the Data Protection Act within 40 days of receiving your request, the fee and all necessary information to answer your request. Sometimes we may also need confirmation of your identity. Information requests made under the Scottish Freedom of Information Act and the Scottish Environmental Information Regulations must be processed within a maximum of 20 working days. This does not include weekends or bank holidays. The 20 working days starts when the University receives your request and ends when it sends the information out. The “timeclock” stops if we have to communicate with you about your request, for example if we have to ask you to clarify your request, or notify you that a fee is payable. It restarts when we hear back from you and receive any fees payable. What if I am not happy with the way the University handles my request?If for any reason you are dissatisfied with the University’s handling of your request – for example because you did not receive the information or the level of service that you think you should have received – you should complain to the University. If your complaint is straightforward, for example if the area of the University to whom you directed your original request has forgotten to include all the information, please contact the area that dealt with the original request. If your complaint is more complex, for example you did not receive a reply within the specified time, please contact the Records Management Section, giving full details of the original request and any response(s) you received. Once we have processed your complaint we will let you know of the outcome. If you are still dissatisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner or the Scottish Information Commissioner (depending on which regime your original request was made under). If your request was made under the Data Protection Act, contact the Information Commissioner:
If your request was made under the Scottish Freedom of Information Act or the Scottish Environmental Information Regulations, contact the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Where can I go for help?If you have any questions or problems, please contact the Records Management Section.
If you would like more information about what the University does with the information it holds about you please contact the University's Data Protection Officer by e-mailing the address below. Medical Research Council unitsPlease note that the Medical Research Council Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, based within the Centre for Reproductive Biology, and the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit are not part of the University of Edinburgh for freedom of information purposes. The following websites give information on how to make a freedom of information request to them: Human Reproductive Sciences Unit website: Human Genetics Unit website:
If you have any comments or suggestions regarding these pages please e-mail them
to us at recordsmanagement@ed.ac.uk The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336 Page last updated: Tuesday October 09 2007 |
