Legal Information

Markfield Institute, along with thousands of other Public Authorities must comply with the Freedom of Information Act. The Act was created as an initiative to increase openness and transparency in Government, with the FOI Act passed on 30 November 2000. The Act obliges organisations covered by it to make information available to members of the public, through a publication scheme and, additionally, to make any other information (with a number of statutory exceptions) available upon request.

What does it mean?

The Freedom of Information Act provides a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right, and places a number of obligations on public authorities.

Every Public Authority must:

Proactively publish information in a Publication Scheme. This is a guide to all the information that is routinely published. Respond to written requests for information within 20 working days

Who will enforce it?

The Act will be enforced by the Information Commissioner, who oversees both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998. He is an independent public official, reporting directly to Parliament.

Markfield Institute and FOI

Markfield Institute takes its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously, and hopes to make it as easy as possible to provide you with the information you require.

A large proportion of our information is already accessible on our website, or through our Publication Scheme, which will be continuously under review.

If you cannot find information in our Publication Scheme, you can submit a written request.

Making a request

Any written request received by Markfield Institute will be responded to within 20 working days. Where possible, we will provide the information in the manner you request. This may be in the form of a copy or summary.

Alternatively you may wish to inspect the record. In this case please submit a formal request to the Institute of the exact information you require and we will consider your requires and revert back within 20 working days to you.

Some information may be exempt from disclosure. Where this is the case, we will try to explain clearly which exemption we have applied and why, unless this in itself would release the sensitive information.

We encourage you to be as specific as possible when describing the information you are requesting, to help us in our search. This will also speed up our response, and ensure we provide you with all the relevant information you request.

The cost of locating and retrieving information is not chargeable up to £450 (2 ½ days work). Information will generally be free of charge, and the Markfield Institute will only charge disbursements when a large volume of information has been requested, and disbursement costs exceed £10.

Making an FOI request

The details we need from you when submitting a Freedom of Information Request to Markfield Institute

To submit a Freedom of Information request

Your request should include:

- Your name
- The address to which you would like the response to be sent (email or postal address)
- A detailed description of the information you require
- The format in which you would prefer to receive the information, for example electronically or on paper, and any other requirements – for example large print

If your request is for your own personal data – i.e. it is Subject Access Request – it falls outside of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and you should refer to the University’s Data Privacy website for guidance on how to contact the Data Protection Officer.