Faculty of Education: Information Compliance
POLICY G005
Policy Date: July 2010
Data Protection Act
All staff are required to comply with the Data Protection Act and any personal data about students and staff held in the Faculty by staff in their offices or in administration offices is covered by the Act. Any requests for data access must be referred to the Secretary of the Faculty before response.
The principles of the Data Protection Act are as follows:
- Personal data must be processed following these principles so that data are:
- processed fairly and lawfully and only if certain conditions are met;
- obtained for specified and lawful purposes;
- adequate, relevant and not excessive;
- accurate and where necessary kept up-to-date;
- not be kept for longer than necessary;
- processed in accordance with the subject's rights;
- kept secure;
- not transferred abroad without adequate protection.
For more information and to consult Staff Guidelines, go to: www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/univ/dpa/staff.html For information and advice, contact the Secretary of the Faculty.
Student/Staff Data Filing
All references and formal correspondence relating to staff and students must be held on the relevant personal file – PGCE, UG, etc.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act provides a general right of access by an individual to the information held by a public authority under Section 1 of the Act. Any person wishing to exercise this right, which came into force in January 2005, will have to do so in writing to the public authority. The public authority must state whether it holds that information and, subject to
some exemptions, must supply the information.
The following information guide for staff was published by the Secretariat in 2004:
From 1st January 2005, the Freedom of Information Act gives individuals extensive rights to demand information from the University. Any written requests you receive requesting information held by the University (which could be a prospectus, minutes of a meeting, an advice leaflet or term dates, etc) will fall under the Act. To help ensure the University complies with the law, please always remember:
- Any written request (including emails, faxes and requests using the official University Request Form) for information are likely be covered by the Act
- The University must respond within twenty working days to any written request for information that it holds
- The University places a wide range of information in the public domain already. A list of what is published is available to you and members of the public in the form of a Publication Scheme; it can be viewed at: (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/information/foi/foi_publication_scheme.pdf)
Under the Act it is legitimate to direct an enquirer to the relevant data source within the University’s Publication Scheme rather than send it yourself. - If you can provide the information yourself and it is part of your day-to-day activity (“business as usual”) e.g. a prospectus or leaflet, then please do so.
If it is a request outside the Publication Scheme or if you are in any doubt about the nature or content of a request, or how to respond, please contact the Faculty Freedom of Information Officer, (7)67614, or contact the University’s Freedom of Information Officer on 64142 or by email at foi@admin.ac.uk
More information on the Freedom of Information Act may be found at:
www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/information/foi/
For information and advice on compliance in the Faculty, please contact Secretary of the Faculty, for advice.
Review Date: July 2011
Return to Policies & Procedures.