Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act gives the right to request information held by public authorities, companies wholly owned by public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and non-devolved public bodies in Scotland.

What is the purpose of the FoIA?
The Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) is intended to give the public greater access to information about the workings of public authorities. This will mean increased transparency and accountability, which will raise the quality of public administration.

What does the FoIA do?
The FoIA gives the public a general right of access to all types of ‘recorded’ information held by public authorities from 1 January 2005, subject to certain exemptions. Public authorities also have to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme.

What is the publication scheme?
The FoIA places a duty on public authorities to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme must set out the types of information we intend to publish on an ongoing basis, the form in which the information is published and details of any charges.

Publication scheme

• Who we are and what we do?

  Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Legal framework	This class contains information relating to how the College was established and its standing from the point of view of the law. The corporate status of Wakefield College Corporation is conferred by the relevant statutes, in particular the Education Reform Act of 1988 and the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The legislation is publicly available on the HMSO web site: http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts. Every educational institution (University, Further or Higher Education College) has a legal basis, which forms its legal status. Wakefield College Corporation’s legal status is derived from the Instruments and Articles of Government. This information is publicly available on the DfES Internet: https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses.	Internet	No
  How the College is organised	Organisation chart Senior Team structure Governing Body	Email Email Paper	No No Yes
  Location and contact details		Internet	No

• What we spend and how we spend it

  Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Funding/Income	Sources of funding and income, such as funding grants, tuition fees, endowment and investment income	Email	No
  Budgetary and account information	Annual statement of accounts	Email	No
  Financial Audit Reports	Audit Reports	Email	No
  Capital Programme	Information on major plans for capital expenditure	Email	No
  Financial Regulations and Procedures	Financial Regulations and Procedures	Email	No
  Staff pay and grading structure	Levels of pay scales as part of organisational structure	Email	No
  Register of suppliers	Schedule of suppliers	Email	No
  Procurement tender procedures and reports	Within Financial Regulations	Email	No
  Contracts	Contracts that have been through the formal tendering process	Paper	No

• What our priorities are and how we are doing

  Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Annual Report	Annual Report	Email	No
  Corporate and Business Plan	Strategic Plan	Email	No
  Teaching and Learning Strategy	Teaching and Learning Strategy	Email	No
  Academic Quality and Standards	Student results Self Assessment Report Student Survey Results	Email Email Email	No No No
  External Review Information	Ofsted Report Matrix Standard Report IiP Report	Email Email Email	No No No
  Corporate Relations	Business Services	Internet	No
  Government and Regulatory Reports	Internal and Financial Statements Audit Reports (Executive Summaries)	Email	No

• How we make decisions

  Decision making processes and records of decisions.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Minutes from the Governing Body and Academic Board	Finance, Employment and General Purposes Committee Audit Committee Search Committee Quality and Standards Committee Remuneration Committee Trust Fund Meeting	Email Email Email Email Email Email	No No No No No No
  Minutes of Staff/Student Consultation Meetings	Student Consultative Committees	Email	No
  Appointment Committees and Procedures	Recruitment and Retention Policy	Email	No

• Our policies and procedures

  Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Policies and Procedures for Conducting College Business		Email	No
  Procedures and Policies relating to Academic Services	Full range of policies relating to students. Examples include Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy, Assessment Policy, Counselling Policy, Tutorial Policy, Learner Support Funds Policy.	Email	No
  Procedures and Policies relating to Human Resources	Full range of policies relating to staff. Examples include Terms and Conditions of Employment, Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, Sickness Absence Reporting Procedure, Job Evaluation Procedure.	Email	No
  Procedures and Policies relating to Recruitment	Recruitment and Retention Policy	Email	No
  Code of Conduct for Members of the Governing Body	Governors Handbook	Paper	No
  Equality and Diversity	Full range of policies relating to equality and diversity, such as the Single Equality Scheme, Disability Statement, Medical Needs Policy.	Email	No
  Health and Safety	Full range of policies relating to health and safety, such as Smoking Policy, Health and Safety at Work Policy.	Email	No
  Estate Management	Full range of policies relating to estates, such as Accommodation Strategy, Car Parking Policy, Environmental Policy.	Email	No
  Complaints Policies and Procedures	Complaints Procedure	Email	No
  Records Management and Personal Data Policies	Data Protection Policy Freedom of Information Act Guidelines	Email Email	No No

• Lists and registers

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Asset Registers	College Asset Register Learning Centre Catalogue	Email Email	No No
  Disclosure Logs	Data Protection Requests (outline) FoIA Requests (outline)	Email Email	No No

• The services we offer

  Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters.

  Legal and corporate status	Description	Format	Fee
  Prospectus and course content	Prospectus	Internet	No
  Careers advice	Learner Support	Internet	No
  Chaplaincy services	Learner Support	Internet	No
  Services available to the public	Gaskells Restaurant Elements Hair & Beauty Salon	Internet Internet	No
  Learning Centre (Library and Computer Centre)	Learning Centre information	Email	No
  Conference facilities	Gaskells Restaurant conference venue available for external bookings	Internet	No
  Advice and Guidance	Contact Course Information on 01924 789111	Internet	No
  Media Releases	Latest News & Events	Internet	No

How to obtain information

The policy of Wakefield College is to be as open as possible and to supply the information you have requested, but we have to withhold certain information.

The FoIA sets out a series of exemptions to protect confidential or other information where disclosure may prejudice the interests of the College or of third parties. Decisions about refusal of access to information, the way in which access is given or the level of fees or charges, are also subject to review. The two review processes are set out opposite.

Internal review
If you are dissatisfied with the response from Wakefield College you may seek an internal review of that decision. That review will be undertaken by a senior Wakefield College manager who has not previously been involved with your request.

Review by the Information Commissioner
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, or the handling of the internal review you may seek an independent review from the Information Commissioner.

Requests for an internal review or a review by the Information Commissioner should be submitted in writing to:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545700
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.ico.org.uk