Freedom of Information Act

Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) provide public access to recorded information held by public bodies, where it is suitable for general disclosure. The main principle behind the legislation is that everybody has a right to know about the activities of public authorities, unless there is a good reason for them not to. 

Brunel University London is classed as a public body for the purpose of this legislation, which means:

1. we are obliged to comply with valid requests for recorded information (in whatever format), and 
2. we need to maintain a Publication Scheme which lists the types of information we proactively make available about our activities. 

The University handles all FOIA and EIR requisitions in accordance with our Freedom of Information Policy, and the requirements of the Code of Practice issued under Section 45 of FOIA. 

Making a request for information

Firstly, please check our website to see if the information you want is already available. 

Freedom of information legislation does not give people access to their own data. If you require a copy of your own personal data, we will handle your request under the data protection legislation. Please contact data-protection@brunel.ac.uk to make this type of request. 

If you require confirmation of you degree or other awards, you should email your request to the Awards Team.

If you wish to apply for admission to the University, you should contact Admissions. 

For general information on your rights to access University records and advice on writing an effective request, see the Information Commissioner's website. 

When you are ready to submit your request, please use our online form. EIR requests do not have to be made in writing, but it is easier for us to handle your request if we have a written copy of your exact requirements. 

If you would like to discuss your information needs before submitting a request, you can contact us at foirequests@brunel.ac.uk and we will be happy to help. 

What happens next? 

We have up to 20 working days to comply with valid requests for information and we will start working on your request without delay. 

We will review your request and if we are unsure what you need, we will contact you as soon as possible to clarify your requirements. The 20-working day period for responding to a request will only start once we have a valid request and understand what information you need. 

If we have already published the information, or it is available elsewhere, we will send you details of how to find it. 

Information may be held by several University departments, and the Freedom of Information team will contact relevant departments to obtain information and their views on disclosure. 

We will try to provide as much information as we can in response to your request, but some records may be exempt from disclosure - for example if they contain personal data or commercially sensitive information. Occasionally we will be unable to comply with requests for other reasons, usually because the time it would take to fulfil the request will exceed 18 working hours. If this is the case, we will explain why we cannot comply, or why the exempted information has not been released. 

Information for Brunel employees

If you work for Brunel and want to know more abot what Freedom of Information means for your work, see our intranet pages.