Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has the aim of promoting greater openness about the way public authorities operate. The Act provides a statutory right with effect from 1 January 2005 for members of the public to have access to information held by public authorities, subject to certain exemptions.

Queen Mary has two obligations under the Act:

To adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme
The Publication Scheme gives details of the types of publications and information the College can routinely make available to members of the public.
To deal with requests for information from individual members of the public

Any individual from any country may request information held by the College, subject to certain exemptions.

The College has a duty to respond to requests within 20 working days of their receipt.

In some instances fees or the cost of disbursements (e.g. for photocopying) may be chargeable. If this is the case the College will issue a fees notice to the applicant.

Requests may also be made under the Data Protection Act and the Environmental Information Regulations. See this flowchart [PDF] to decide which law applies.

Requests for information should be sent by email to: foi-enquiries@qmul.ac.uk or made in writing to the Records & Information Compliance Manager, Queens' Building, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS.

Any applicant who is not satisfied with the way their request has been handled should request a review, details about which will be sent in all replies from Queen Mary.

Advice prepared for members of Queen Mary on the Act generally and on responding to requests can be seen at foi.qmul.ac.uk.