Cambridge Media & Environment Programme

The request was partially successful.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am interested in a body called the Cambridge Media & Environment Programme. I understand that before 2004 this body was part of the University Geography Department, when it may have operating as the "University of Cambridge Media & Environment Programme". I will refer to the body as CMEP henceforth, and I mean the acronym to cover the body with either of these titles.

I have copies of two invoices from Cambridge University Department of Earth Sciences to the Tyndall Centre at UEA (Nos LB95953 and LC51860) which are for "Donations in support of the University of Cambridge Media and Environment Programme".

I am interested in the financial records of CMEP.

i) Were there separate financial records for CMEP - i.e. was there a separate legal entity? If not, was there a cost or revenue centre or perhaps a project code? Please provide details of these as applicable. I assume that since the monies were provided for a specific purpose, they cannot simply have been subsumed in general funds. Then from the legal entity/cost/revenue centre/project code, please provide the following information.

ii) Please provide annual totals of all income by source (i.e. legal entity/customer etc) of CMEP for periods from 2001/2 onwards. I gather that in 2004 CMEP ceased to be part of the University. Please provide all receipts of which you have a record.

iii) Please provide details of annual expenditure for CMEP. Annual totals per nominal ledger code would suffice. Again I assume that you will only have these up to 2004/5.

iv)At the point CMEP ceased to be part of the university, there may have been assets, including cash, transferred to the new external body. Please provide details of any such payments or asset transfers.

v)In periods since CMEP ceased to be part of the university, please give details of any payments made to CMEP. Annual totals will suffice.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Montford

FOI, University of Cambridge

Dear Mr Montford,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Request. Your reference number is
FOI-2009-21.

We will respond on or before 12th March 2009.

Regards,

FOI Team

--------------------

University of Cambridge

Secretariat, The Old Schools

Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TN

T: (01223 7)64142

F: (01223 3)32332

[email address]

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Andrew Montford

Dear FOI,

This request is now overdue and the University is in breach of the law. Could you please respond as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Montford

FOI, University of Cambridge

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Montford,

Further to your response under the Freedom of Information Act, I enclose the University's response.
This response is provided to you on 12 March and is therefore consistent with our acknowledgement
email below.

Regards,
FOI team

University of Cambridge
Secretariat, The Old Schools
Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TN
T: (01223 7)64142
F: (01223 3)32332
[email address]

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Andrew Montford

Dear FOI,

Thank-you for your response.

I find your explanation frankly bizarre, given that I have presented invoices raised by the university in the name of CMEP.

Could you please explain how it was that invoices were raised by the University's geography department if this was not a university programme?

Also, my questions relate to how this activity was dealt with in the University books and also the total values of such expenditure. Regardless of whether it was a university programme or not, I would like responses to my questions or an indication of what exemption under the FoI Act you are seeking to use. It is illegal for you simply to reply that CMEP was not a university programme.

Could you please acknowledge this message and let me know how you intend to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Montford

FOI, University of Cambridge

Dear Mr Montford,
Thank you for your email of which I acknowledge receipt.
I will consider the points which you raise and revert in due course.
With best wishes
Kirsty Allen

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Bruce Beckles left an annotation ()

Please note that the University's statement "This response is provided to you on 12 March and is therefore consistent with our acknowledgement
email below" is not, as it might appear, a valid excuse for the overdue response.

Awareness Guidance No 11 (Time for compliance) issued by the Information Commissioner

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...

states:

"3. When is a request received by the public authority?

A request is received when it is delivered to the public authority, or when it is
delivered to the inbox of a member of staff. The date of receipt is not the date
the request is passed to the appropriate person for processing."

It is therefore clear that the date of the University's acknowledgement of an FOI request has no bearing on the date by which they are required to respond to the request.

FOI, University of Cambridge

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Dear Mr Montford,

Further to your email of 12 March 2009, please find enclosed a letter from Dr Kirsty Allen.

Kind Regards,
FOI Team

--------------------
University of Cambridge
Secretariat, The Old Schools
Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TN

T: (01223 7)64142
F: (01223 3)32332
[email address]

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Andrew Montford

Dear Dr Allen

Thank you for your reply to my earlier request.

While your response is somewhat vague, I gather that the CMEP income was subsumed in general funds rather than being kept separate by means of a cost centre or similar accounting identity.

I understand that the FoI Act requires you to assist me in formulating my request in a way that will allow you to comply with it. As I mentioned in my earlier request, I want to know what other income was received regarding CMEP and how it was disbursed. Could you therefore please either locate this information for me or assist me in formulating the request in such as way as allows you to comply.

Could you also please supply the full accounting details (account, cost centre, any other information on the accounting record) for the credit entry for the two invoices I have already mentioned.

Many thanks

Andrew Montford

Andrew Montford

Dear Sir or Madam,

Could you please respond to my last message.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Montford

FOI, University of Cambridge

Dear Mr Montford,

Your email of 21 March has been received by this office, and is being looked into.

Regards,
FOI Team

--------------------
University of Cambridge
Secretariat, The Old Schools
Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TN

T: (01223 7)64142
F: (01223 3)32332
[email address]

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Andrew Montford

Dear FOI,

Could you please now provide a response to my previous emails.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Montford

FOI, University of Cambridge

Dear Mr Montford,
Following your most recent email, I have further investigated the matter in consultation and
discussion with colleagues. Some limited further information has come to light and I hope to be in
a position to provide you with a response by the middle of next week.
With best wishes
Kirsty Allen

Kirsty Allen, MA PhD
Senior Assistant Registrary
Secretariat
The Old Schools
Trinity Lane
Cambridge, CB2 1TN

Email: [email address]
Telephone (direct dial): 01223 332323
Telephone (Secretary: Ms Molly Hughes): 01223 764142

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FOI, University of Cambridge

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Montford,

Please find enclosed a letter, together with relevent documents, from Dr Kirsty Allen.

Regards,
FOI Team

--------------------
University of Cambridge
Secretariat, The Old Schools
Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TN

T: (01223 7)64142
F: (01223 3)32332
[email address]

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