Warwick should be exempt from Freedom of Information Act, say officals

Uni officials are backing the government’s proposal to allow English universities to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, according to a leaked document.

Although this document is labelled as a draft, the deadline for response to the government’s consultation expires today – indicating this is the final copy.

The document was released last November in the green paper on higher education.

Photo credit: The Boar

If this proposal was to go through, the university could stop the general public from requesting information about their records – so investigating things such as the university’s investment portfolio would be off limits.

The Education Officer of Warwick SU, Charlie Hindhaugh, has condemned the green paper for contradicting itself by “professing to expand data sharing yet potentially restricting information that employers/students want to know through the proposed withdrawal of Freedom of Information (FOI) for public universities.”

But Peter Dunn from Warwick’s Press and Policy Team said: “This is actually not a new story.

“The University, and indeed the Russell Group as a whole, has already expressed this view on the inclusion of universities in the Freedom of Information legislation.

“The reason for simply reiterating this view in our response to the green paper is because the green paper itself makes reference to possible creation of even more private higher education providers who would again be exempt from the FOI legislation.”

It is not only Warwick that has taken on this position – up to 24 Russell Group universities could enforce the proposal.

The deadline for presenting consultation responses from the universities to the government is tonight at 11:45pm.

A petition has also been created this morning to oppose this plan and “celebrate the healthy relationship that exists between student media and universities currently in the UK.”