Universities to remain under Freedom of Information Act

Universities are set to remain under the scope of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), after an independent commission recommended against proposals from the Russell Group to become exempt.

The Independent Commission of Freedom of Information’s final report, released on March 1, stated that “it continues to be appropriate and important for universities to remain subject to the Act. They are highly important institutions that play a key public role.”

The Freedom of Information Act allows any citizen to request information from a public body. It is a key tool for holding institutions to account, and has been instrumental in many investigations by the Boar.

Isaac Leigh, current president of the Students’ Union (SU), said he was pleased with the news.

The Act, he said, “is an incredibly important tool for students, and student media in particular, to hold universities to account. Many stories have been discovered through FOI which sabbatical officers were previously not aware of through committee representation.

“Without FOI, university accountability would be severely diminished.”

In January this year, the Boar and the Warwick Globalist revealed a leaked paper which exposed Warwick University’s support for the exemption of universities from the Act.

The University argued that exemption from the terms of the Act would “level the playing field in terms of regulatory burden.” It also cited the cost of answering FOI requests as a factor. It claimed that since private universities were not subject to the Act, publicly-funded universities were at a competitive disadvantage.

As universities are forced to secure ever more of their income through alternate channels,  the argument against transparency in favour of ‘stakeholder interests’ is unlikely to go away.

The commission was an advisory body set up by the Cabinet Office to advise on government policy. Its recommendations do not have to be followed by government, however it is likely that they will be.