EXEMPTIONS

What is the Public Interest Test?

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides that the University may be required to disclose information, even where an exemption applies.

The Public Interest Test requires the University to consider whether the public interest in withholding the exempt information, outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

What about teaching materials for a course with fees?

The public will generally not be given teaching materials that our students have to pay for through their tuition fees.  As with all FOI exemptions each request will have to be dealt with on a case by case basis and will depend on exactly what is asked.  If you think you have received a request that you feel may contain a request for exempt information please contact Governance & Management Services at foi@napier.ac.uk.

What if a student asks for forthcoming exam questions or answers?

Information on upcoming exam questions and answers will be exempt for students and the public.  As with all FOI exemptions each request will have to be dealt with on a case by case basis and will depend on exactly what is asked.  If you think you have received a request that you feel may contain a request for exempt information please contact Governance & Management Services via foi@napier.ac.uk.

Will we have to give out information about staff, for example which staff members perform animal experiments?

We will not give out specific staff details of this nature.  If you receive a request asking for this type of details please contact Governance & Management Services via foi@napier.ac.uk.

Dissertations undertaken within a private company are usually put under confidential restrictions, how will this be affected?

These will have to be looked at on a case by case basis as the exact wording of the contracts will differ from company to company.  Please contact the Records Manager via foi@napier.ac.uk have any further queries.

Will we have to give out details about our computing firewalls, building plans, security procedures and other security measures?

No, this type of information will generally be withheld under an exemption.  But please contact Governance and Management Services (the Governance Officer (Records Manager)) if you receive a request for this type of information as we will have to look at each request on a case by case basis.

What do I do if someone requests information on a research project I’ve been working on?

The Act has an exemption clause in s27(2) for research programmes intended for future publication.  The parameters of this exemption are very strict; the research must be part of a funded programme and must have a start and end date.  As with all FOI exemptions each request will have to be dealt with on a case by case basis and will depend on exactly what is asked. 

If you think you have received a request that you feel may contain a request for exempt information please contact Governance and Management Services (the Governance Officer (Records Manager)) or write to us at foi@naper.ac.uk.