Guide to Information available through the Model Publication Scheme

Queen Margaret University Model Publication Scheme

The following publication scheme is for our publicly owned (active) company: QMU Enterprises Ltd 

Hard copies of the publication schemes can be requested by:

Email: FoI@qmu.ac.uk     

Post: Freedom of Information, Queen Margaret University, Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 6UU

Phone: +44 (0)131 474 0000 and ask for Freedom of Information when prompted.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) requires that all Scottish public authorities make certain types of information routinely available, and provide a guide to information telling the public how to access the information and what it might cost. Queen Margaret University adopted the Model Publication Scheme in 2013.

This Guide to Information also contains details of the environmental information that we routinely make available under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EI(S)Rs).

We have made a commitment to publish all information which we hold which falls within the classes of information in the scheme. This Guide to Information describes the information which we publish in accordance with the scheme, and how you can access this information.

We are obliged by FOISA to have due regard to the public interest in providing access to the information that we hold which relates to:

• the services we provide;
• the costs of those services;
• the standard of those services;
• the facts that inform the important decisions we take; and
• the reasoning that informs our decisions.

This Guide to Information was prepared by the Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP), under the auspices of Universities Scotland's Secretaries’ Group. SHEIP consulted the public authorities to be covered by the Guide, to assess what information should be included in the Guide, taking account of reviews of information requests, and assessments of previous publication scheme feedback.

Our Guide to Information provides more details of the information available under the scheme, along with additional guidance on how the information falling within each “class” may be accessed.

Online:

Most information listed in our Guide to Information is available on our website. In many cases a link within Section 8: Categories of information will direct you to the relevant page or document. Where no such link is present, you can find this information using our website’s “Search” facility. If you are still having trouble finding any document listed under our scheme, or require the information in a different format, then please contact the University on at foi@qmu.ac.uk for further assistance

By email:

If the information you seek is not published on our website, we can send it to you by email, wherever possible.

By post:

Information under the scheme may also be available in paper copy form. Please address your request to:

Freedom of Information, Queen Margaret University, Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 6UU

When writing to us to request information, please include your name and address, full details of the information or documents you would like to receive, and any fee applicable (see Section 5: Our charging policy for further information on fees). Please also include a telephone number so we can telephone you to clarify any details, if necessary.

By inspection at our premises

Some of the information that we publish in accordance with the scheme may be available for inspection at our campus. Please call 0131 474 0000 or email foi@qmu.ac.uk for assistance.

Our aim in maintaining this Guide is to be as open as possible. All information covered by the publication scheme can either be accessed through our website, or will be provided promptly following our receipt of your request.

If a document contains information that the University may legitimately wish to exempt from disclosure under an appropriate section of Scotland’s freedom of information laws, (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we may remove or redact the information before publication but we will inform you that we have done so and provide an explanation of why the information is withheld. The Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on information that may be exempt from publication. 

If you wish to complain about any information which has been withheld from you, please refer to Section 7– Contact us.

Wherever possible, information contained within our Guide is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent to you electronically by email.

Charges for information which is not available under the scheme: The charges for information which is available under this scheme are set out under section 6 – Our Charging Policy. If you submit a request to us for information which is not available under the scheme the charges will be based on the following calculations:

General information requests:

• There will be no charge for information requests which cost us £100 or less to process.
• Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide you may be asked to pay 10% of the cost. That is, if you were to ask for information that cost us £600 to provide, you would be asked to pay £50, calculated on the basis of a waiver for the first £100 and 10% of the remaining £500.
• We are not obliged to respond to requests which will cost us over £600 to process.
• In calculating any fee, staff time will be calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.
• We do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, nor for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may be made for locating, retrieving and providing information to you.
• In the event that we decide to impose a charge, we will issue you with notification of the charge (a fees notice) and how it has been calculated. You will have three months from the date of issue of the fees notice in which to decide whether to pay the charge. The information will be provided to you on payment of the charge. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges for environmental information: We do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, nor for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may be made for locating, retrieving and providing information to you.

In the event that we decide to impose a charge we will issue you with notification of the charge and how it has been calculated. The information will be provided to you on payment of the charge. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the authority of providing the information.

• Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying, 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying. Computer disks are charged at £5 per disk.  
• Postage is charged at actual rate for first class mail. 
• Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.

The first £100 worth of information will be provided to you without charge.

Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide you will be asked to pay 10% of the cost. That is, if you were to ask for information that cost us £600 to provide, you would be asked to pay £50, that calculated on the basis of a waiver for the first £100 and 10% of the remaining £500.

Where it would cost more than £600 to provide the information to you, we may still provide the information to you, however, we will ask you to pay the full cost of providing the information, with no waiver for any portion of the cost.

Information obtained from this publication scheme cannot be copied or reproduced without formal permission. Such permission will usually be granted provided it is copied or reproduced accurately, is not used in a misleading context and provided that the source of the material is identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

The publication scheme may, however, contain information where the copyright holder is not Queen Margaret University. In most cases the copyright holder will be obvious from the documents. In cases where the copyright is unclear, however, it is the responsibility of the person accessing the information to locate and seek the permission of the copyright holder before reproducing the material or in any other way breaching the rights of the copyright holder. Wherever possible, this scheme will indicate where we do not own the copyright on documents within Section 8 – Categories of Information.

Information about Crown copyright material is available on the website of the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

If the information you are seeking is not available under this publication scheme, then you may wish to request it from us by:

Email: foi@qmu.ac.uk

Post: Freedom of Information, Queen Margaret University, Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 6UU

You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this guide to information. We will be pleased to hear your comments and suggestions, work to resolve any complaints, or advise you on how to ask for information that we do not routinely publish.

FOI Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University Drive Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6UU

email: foi@qmu.ac.uk

tel: 0131 474 0000