Mr Paul Philips
[[FOI #12529 email]]
8 June 2009
Our Ref: FOI 2009/90 – F0060765
Dear Mr Philips,
Re: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information
Thank you for your email dated 28 May 2009 timed 07:34
. The University has reviewed your
request, however we require further information in order to identify and locate the requested
information.
Your request:
I would like information on the following points:
1. How many spin-out companies has the University formed in the past five years and
how much did it cost the University to create each company?
2. Could you provide me with a breakdown of costs incurred by the University for each
spin-out company formed within the past five years? This breakdown should include: -
legal costs involved in the formation of each company; - salary costs for any University
employees responsible for the formation of each spin-out; and – any other overheads
involved, i.e. bonuses for said staff, consultancy costs, accommodation and travel
costs.
3. Could you also provide amounts of all income earned from University spin-out
companies within the same five-year period, excluding equity/shares held by the
University in those companies?
4. If you can neither provide the costs nor the quantifiable amounts of actual income
can you provide me with the justification for such expenditure from the public purse?
5. How many spin-out companies have registered actual sales and how many of these
companies are trading at a profit? Could you please provide details of profit and loss
accounts for these companies? If none of these spin-out companies have made a
profit, can you provide me with justification for continuing to spend public funds in this
area?
DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICE
Main Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ
Data Protection: Telephone: 0141-330-3111
E-Mail: [email address]
Freedom of Information: Telephone: 0141-330-2523
E-Mail: foi@gla.ac.uk
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401
6. What is the ratio of costs incurred by the University to income earned by each spin-
out company formed? Does this represent good use of public funds?
7. Have the University's Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor responsible for financial
matters, Secretary of Court, Director of Finance or any of the University's governing
bodies ever called for an investigation/review regarding the cost to the University of
creating spin-out companies? If so, could you please provide me with the relevant
details/reports?
8. What level of legal/business qualifications do the people responsible for creating
spin-out companies possess? If they do not possess such qualifications, is the
University going to take any action against the Director of Human Resources for
appointing these people, bearing in mind that it is public funds being used here?
9. Are the University's managers with financial control for spin-out companies required
to keep a record of all expenditure? If they are, are they required to report this to the
Secretary of Court or Director of Finance? If so, could you please provide me with the
relevant details/reports?
Reference your request above:
Point 1.
Please provide clarification of ‘costs’ to the University to create each
company.
Point 8.
Please provide clarification of “people responsible for creating spin-out
companies”.
Until we receive clarification, the University will consider this information request to be
suspended. The 20 working days to respond will commence when we receive your
clarification.
If we do not hear from you within one month of the date of this letter we will assume that you
are no longer seeking access to this information and the University will take no further action.
Yours sincerely,
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office
