Requesting information from us
We handle large amounts of personal data and take our privacy responsibilities very seriously. At the same time, we aim to be as transparent as possible about our decision-making processes and freely publish a significant amount of information about how we work as an organisation.
The information below provides brief guidance on how to request information from us. If you need further information or help with a request, please email FOI@royalholloway.ac.uk.
EIR and FOI
Environmental information regulations (EIR)
Under The Environmental Regulations 2004 you can request information held by us that relates to the following environmental areas: air, water, soil, land, flora and fauna, biodiversity, emissions, noise, energy, waste, health & safety.
To request information, please email us at FOI@royalholloway.ac.uk. You can find out more from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Freedom of Information (FOI)
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to request recorded information held by us, the right to be told whether or not we hold this information and, if we do, the right to receive this information unless it is exempt from disclosure.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, we are also required to maintain a publication scheme identifying the information we already publish. This can be found below.
Our publication scheme
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we have a responsibility to produce a publication scheme identifying the information we already publish. We follow the model publication scheme for higher education institutions approved by the Information Commissioner's Office.
You can view our Publication scheme here.
How to make an FOI or EIR request
You must make your FOI request in writing. We prefer for EIR requests to be made in writing. Please send your request to:
You should include:
- a description of the information you want
- your name and correspondence address (an email address is acceptable)
- where you’d like us to send the information (if different from your correspondence address)
Exemptions
We have the right to refuse your request in certain circumstances, for example if you are asking for personal information or if your request is vexatious or repeated. The exemptions we are most likely to apply are as follows:
- Information about other people - personal information about third parties is exempt if disclosure would be contrary to the data protection principles enshrined under the Data Protection Act.
- Information provided in confidence where disclosure of information would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.
- Commercially sensitive information where disclosure of information would prejudice the commercial interests of Royal Holloway or another body.
- Information where disclosure would endanger the health and safety of other people.
- Information which is readily accessible by other means. This applies to information that is readily available elsewhere e.g. on our website or published elsewhere.
We may also decline to release information if:
- the information is intended for future publication
- the cost of locating or extracting the information is estimated to exceed the appropriate limit. This is currently £450 or 18 hours of staff time at the rate of £25 per hour.
How to complain
If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can ask for an internal review by emailing foi@royalholloway.ac.uk.
For more information, see our complaints procedure.
FOI compliance statistics
In accordance with the Section 45 Code of Practice, the College publishes compliance statistics on requests for information processed under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. These statistics are published quarterly.
2021
2020
2019
2018
Internal Reviews
The number of requests that have been referred for internal review per calendar year will be published annually each April.
2020: 5 requests were referred for internal review
2019: 12 requests were referred for internal review
2018: 10 requests were referred for internal review
Data Protection
Further information on Data Protection
For information on data protection, including the College's Data Protection policy, your rights under GDPR, and online forms to use if you wish to execerise those rights, please see our data protection webpage.
