Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides a right of access to information held by public authorities and sets out exemptions to that right of access. The College proactively publishes a wide range of information, the majority of which is available on this website. Information is published in accordance with the College's publication scheme and covers the governance and operation of the College.

FOI

Any person or body who makes a request in writing to a public authority for access to recorded information must be informed whether the public authority holds that information and be supplied with it, subject to the application of various exemptions specified within the Act.

Making an information request

Any person who makes a request to the College for information not made available through our publication scheme is entitled (subject to the exemptions enumerated in the Act) to be informed in writing whether the College holds the information requested and if so, to have the information communicated to him or her.

The request must be in writing (including electronic formats such as email), must state the applicant’s name and an address for correspondence, and must contain a description of the information required.

Requests should be made in writing via email to foi@wolfson.ox.ac.uk or via post to:

College Freedom of Information Officer
Bursar's Office
Wolfson College
Linton Road
Oxford OX2 6UD

A request for information must be clearly addressed to the College. Letter or Emails which are intended for the University of Oxford will not receive a response.

The College will respond to a request within 20 working days.

Requests for personal data

The Data Protection Act 1998 governs the processing of personal data (information relating to living individuals). This legislation makes it possible for you to request access to personal data that the College may hold about you. A request for disclosure of such information is called a subject access request. Any such requests should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer, at the same address as above.

Should you wish to know more about your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 you should consult the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Limits of Disclosure

The College will disclose information wherever possible. However, in certain limited circumstances, it will be necessary to employ one of the exemptions to the general requirement to release information. In any case where information is refused, the College will specify which exemption is being claimed and why. All requests for information will be carefully considered on their own merits and with close regard to the public interest.

Publication Scheme

The purpose of the scheme is to give a clear indication of which College publications are routinely accessible, so that the public can be informed as far as reasonably possible of the purpose and nature of College activities. The scheme also seeks to assist in developing a greater culture of openness in relation to College matters. Learn more.

Through the scheme, the College endeavours to be as transparent as possible about its activities, while at the same time recognising that there are exemptions to the disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Charges

Most of the information in the scheme can be downloaded from the website free of charge. The College reserves the right to make a small charge for printed copies of some documents available on the website, to cover administrative costs. Charges for documents only available in hard copy are indicated on the website.

Copyright

The copyright in this publication scheme and its contents is reserved to Wolfson College, University of Oxford.

Information not included

Information that falls into the following categories is not published as part of this scheme.

  • Information that the College does not hold.
  • Information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or Environmental Information Regulations.
  • Information that is archived, out-of-date or otherwise inaccessible.
  • Information that would be impractical or resource intensive to prepare for routine release.