Council of The University of Cambridge (Education): ICO 7 Oct 2019

Cambridge University Press (‘the Press’) is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Although it is operationally separate from the Academic University – having its own executive board, HR, IT, legal and finance departments – it is not corporately separate from the University (eg a trading subsidiary). As such, although this decision notice is served on the Council of the University of Cambridge, it concerns the Press and the Press is discussed throughout. In a multi-part request, the third in a series, the complainant has requested information about particular publishing matters from the Press. The Press aggregated this request with the complainant’s second request and maintains that it is not obliged to comply with the request under section 12(1) of the FOIA (cost exceeds appropriate limit). The Press did, however, volunteer some information that addressed some parts of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: The Press is entitled to aggregate the costs of complying with the complainant’s requests under section 12(1) and to refuse to comply with the current request. The Press provided the complainant with sufficient advice and assistance to meet its duty under 16(1) of the FOIA. The Press did not breach section 17(7)(a) of the FOIA, which concerns refusing a request. The Commissioner does not require the Press to take any remedial steps.
FOI 17: Complaint not upheld FOI 16: Complaint not upheld FOI 12: Complaint not upheld

Citations:

[2019] UKICO fs50828186

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Information

Updated: 16 August 2022; Ref: scu.643453