Edinburgh Napier University Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force on 1 January 2005, giving you the right to request information from us in addition to that published in our Scheme. We have also provided some answers to frequently asked questions.
The sections below provide background and links to other areas of legislation and organisations which complement and work alongside Freedom of Information.
Additional useful information and links
The Scottish Information Commissioner
The Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing and promoting the right to access information held by public authorities, created by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (see below). More information about the Commissioner, the powers of the Office and the legislation can be found on the Information Commissioner's website.
They also publish a page describing the differences between the FOI Act 2000 and the FOI (Scotland) Act 2002.
Data Protection & the UK Information Commissioner
The Data Protection Act 1998 defines the University's responsibilities concerning the collection, storage, use and transfer of information about living individuals. It also affords certain rights to individuals including the right to see information held about them.
The Act states that personal data must be processed in accordance with the Data Protection principles to ensure that it is:
- Fairly and lawfully processed
- Processed for limited purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and up to date
- Not kept for longer than is necessary
- Processed in line with individuals’ rights
- Kept secure
- Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection
Procedural guidance and advice (including Edinburgh Napier's Code of Practice) can be found on our Governance intranet Site.
Information regarding legislation, the rights of individuals and organisations and guidelines regarding specific issues relating to Data Protection and associated legislation can be found on the UK Information Commissioner's website.
The UK Information Commissioner's Office is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
You can 
download guidance on the interaction between the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts, or view it on our Governance intranet site.
Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations (EIRs) and the Scottish Information Commissioner
EIRs complement the rights awarded under the FOI (Scotland) Act and give people the general right of access to environmental information. The information covered includes:
1. anything to do with the environment itself including the land, flora, fauna, habitats, water and air
2. any activities which may impact on the above eg pollution, radiation, greening and planting initiatives etc.
3. Edinburgh Napier University policies and procedures relating to the environment.
EIR procedures: In accordance with best practice Edinburgh Napier University will, where appropriate, deal with EIR requests in the same manner as Freedom of Information requests and to the same 20 working day deadline.
Further information regarding Edinburgh Napier's environmental information can be obtained under the Environmental Information Regulations page, Class 12.10 of the Publication Scheme and on our Sustainability website.
The Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the EIRs in Scotland, and the Scottish government publish an EIR Code of Practice.
More information is also available on our Environmental Information page and under Class 12.10.
Records Management
Effective records management enables Edinburgh Napier to meet its obligations under Freedom of Information, Data Protection and Environmental Information Regulations.
Records also provide the corporate memory and are therefore a vital asset for ongoing operations and providing valuable evidence of our activities.
Further information can be obtained from:
Information Governance Group
The Edinburgh Napier Information Governance Group has been set up ensure that we deliver our statutory obligations and comply with:
- Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
- Data Protection Act
- Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
- Other associated legislation.