Scottish
Disability
Team
NB This is the second page of the online version of the SDT Guidance Note Freedom of Information and Disability: Briefing Notes, published in February 2005.
Any member of the public can request information from universities and colleges under the FoI. In making a request, the applicant may express a preference for receiving such information in one of three ways specified in the FoI. These are outlined below. If a university or college receives a request for information to be made available in a specific format, then the university or college must supply the information (unless such information is exempt from requiring to be disclosed as outlined in Section B of these briefing notes) in the way requested, provided this is "reasonably practicable". The three specific formats that can be requested are:-
In deciding whether it is reasonably practicable to meet a given request, the university or college requires to look at all of the circumstances including the cost involved, the volume of information to be processed and the ease of conversion to the requested form. If the university or college finds that a particular request is not "reasonably practicable" to fulfil, it must explain this to the applicant in writing while supplying such information as is reasonable in the circumstances.
Example: If an applicant requests a transcript of a voluminous manuscript record, it may be acceptable for the university or college to reply in accordance with the timescales specified in the FoI: "The cost of meeting your request would run into tens of thousands pounds and it would take years to supply the information you need which is not in our opinion reasonably practicable. The quality of the originals is such that a photocopy would probably be illegible and is therefore likely to be unsatisfactory. We would invite you to make an appointment with our archivist to view the material".
The FoI provides that the test of reasonable practicability in providing information in a particular format is not to be taken to detract from the duty of service providers/the providers of education services to provide "reasonable adjustments" under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ("DDA").
This means that, even if a public authority could successfully argue that to deal with a request in the format required by a disabled applicant would not be reasonably practicable under the FoI, if it would be considered to be a "reasonable adjustment" under the DDA, then the requirement under the DDA must be complied with.
Generally speaking, a university or college must comply with a request no later than the twentieth working day after which the university or college receives the request or the twentieth working day following receipt of the fee (if one has been charged) by the university or college.
Universities and colleges are entitled to request a fee for providing information under an FoI request. However, the fees regime is not intended to allow a university or college to recover the full costs of dealing with a request. The Freedom of Information (Fees for Required Disclosure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the "Regulations") state that the first £100 of costs cannot be passed onto the applicant. Thereafter, 10% of the prescribed costs may be charged up to an upper cost limit of £600. Should the projected costs for the provision of the information exceed the prescribed amount of £600, the university or college is not obliged to comply with the request. If the university or college chooses to comply, it may recoup all of its costs above £600 subject to not being entitled to recover staff costs involved in dealing with request at an amount greater than £15 per hour per member of staff. Where a university or college envisages a charge being made for information it requires to issue a fee notice to the applicant setting out the estimated level of fee which it intends to charge.