Guide to Information (1-7)
Guide to information available through the Model Publication Scheme
1. Introduction to the Guide to Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) requires that all Scottish public authorities make certain types of information routinely available, and provide a guide to information telling the public how to access the information and what it might cost.
This Guide to Information also contains details of the environmental information that we routinely make available under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EI(S)Rs).
The University of Stirling has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing FOISA. You can see guidance on this scheme here: Publication Schemes.
We have made a commitment to publish all information which we hold which falls within the classes of information in the scheme. This Guide to Information describes the information which we publish in accordance with the scheme, and how you can access this information.
We are obliged by FOISA to have due regard to the public interest in providing access to the information that we hold which relates to:
- the services we provide;
- the costs of those services;
- the standard of those services;
- the facts that inform the important decisions we take; and
- the reasoning that informs our decisions.
This Guide to Information was prepared by the Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group, under the auspices of Universities Scotland's Secretaries’ Group. SHEIP consulted the public authorities to be covered by the Guide, to assess what information should be included in the Guide, taking account of reviews of information requests, and assessments of previous publication scheme feedback.
2. Accessing information under the scheme
Our Guide to Information provides more details of the information available under the scheme, along with additional guidance on how the information falling within each “class” may be accessed.
Online:
Most information listed in our Guide to Information is available on our website. In many cases a link within Section 8: Categories of information will direct you to the relevant page or document. Where no such link is present, you can find this information using our website’s “Search” facility on the University’s home page. If you are still having trouble finding any document listed under our scheme, then please call the FOI Unit (01786 466670, foiunit@stir.ac.uk) for further assistance.
By email:
If the information you seek is not published on our website, we can send it to you by email, wherever possible.
By phone:
Information provided through the scheme can also be requested from us over the telephone. Please call the FOI Unit (01786 466670) to request information available under this scheme.
By post:
Information under the scheme may also be available in paper copy form. Please address your request to:
The FOI Unit
Policy and Planning
University of Stirling
Stirling
FK9 4LA
When writing to us to request information, please include your name and address, full details of the information or documents you would like to receive, and any fee applicable (see Section 4: Our charging policy for further information on fees). Please also include a telephone number so we can telephone you to clarify any details, if necessary.
By inspection at our premises:
Some of the information that we publish in accordance with the scheme may be available for inspection on site.
3. Information that we may withhold
Our aim in maintaining this Guide is to be as open as possible. All information covered by the publication scheme can either be accessed through our website, or will be provided promptly following our receipt of your request.
If a document contains information that the University may legitimately wish to exempt from disclosure under an appropriate section of Scotland’s freedom of information laws, (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we may remove or redact the information before publication but we will inform you that we have done so and provide an explanation of why the information is withheld. The Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on information that may be exempt from publication is available here:
View the Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on information that may be exempt
If you wish to complain about any information which has been withheld from you, please refer to Section 7– Contact us.
4. Our charging policy
Wherever possible, information contained within our Guide is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent to you electronically by email.
We reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on electronic media such as a memory stick. Charges will reflect the actual costs of reproduction and postage to the authority, as set out below. If you request information for which there is a charge, we will inform you and explain how it has been calculated. Information will not be provided to you until payment has been received.
Reproduction costs:
Where charges are applied, photocopied information will be charged at a standard rate of 10p per A4 side of paper (black and white copy) and 30p per A4 side of paper (colour copy).
Electronic media will be charged at cost.
Postage cost:
We will pass on postage charges to the requester at the cost to the authority of sending the information by first class post.
For further information about charges for requests made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 please see our FOI/EIR Charging Guidance.
5. Our copyright policy
Where the University of Stirling holds the copyright in its published information this information cannot be copied or reproduced without formal permission. Such permission will usually be granted provided it is copied or reproduced accurately, is not used in a misleading context and provided that the source of the material is identified and the copyright status acknowledged.
The publication scheme may, however, contain information where the copyright holder is not the University of Stirling. In most cases, the copyright holder will be obvious from the documents. In cases where the copyright is unclear, however, it is the responsibility of the person accessing the information to locate and seek the permission of the copyright holder before reproducing the material or in any other way breaching the rights of the copyright holder. Wherever possible, this Guide will indicate where we do not own the copyright on documents.
Information about Crown copyright material is available on the website of the Queen’s Printer for Scotland. We can provide you with a copy of this information if you do not have internet access.
6. How to access information not available under this scheme
If the information you are seeking is not available under this publication scheme, then you may wish to request it from us.
Learn more about how to make an information request.
7. Contact us
You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this guide to information. We will be pleased to hear your comments and suggestions, work to resolve any complaints or advise you on how to ask for information that we do not routinely publish.
The FOI Unit
Policy and Planning
University of Stirling
Stirling
FK9 4LA
8. Categories of information
Categories of information available in this Publication Scheme are detailed in the links at the bottom of our Publication Scheme page.
September 2022