UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD
Ref. FOI/20191014/3
11 November 2019
Reply to request for information under Freedom of Information of Act
Your Ref
Email of 14 October 2019
Address
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
_
Request
Please could you confirm the number of students of Singaporean nationality enrolled on
the following courses for the past 5 years:
1) BA Computer Science
2) BA Mathematics and Computer Science
3) BA/Masters Computer Science and Philosophy
4) MSc Computer Science
5) MSc in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science
6) MSc in Software Engineering
7) MSc in Software and Systems Security
Yours faithfully,
J. Y. Tay
Dear J.Y. Tay,
I write in reply to your request for the above information.
The total number of students of Singaporean nationality enrolled in the above courses over the past five years
is seventeen.
We will not disclose the number of Singaporean students by course, because the numbers involved are so small
that those with access to other information or knowledge (e.g. those associated with the same school as
applicants) might be able to identify individuals and learn new information about those individuals. For this
reason, we have only provided the total number of Singaporean students in the seven courses of your request.
In taking this measure, we are applying the exemption in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). Section 40(2) provides an exemption from disclosure for information that is the personal data of an
individual other than the requester, where disclosure would breach any of the data protection principles in Article
5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We consider that disclosure of the information requested
in the exact form requested would breach the first data protection principle, which requires that personal data
is processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner. Disclosure would be unfair to the individuals concerned,
as it would be contrary to their reasonable and legitimate expectations. They would not reasonably expect that
information about their nationality would be made public under the FOIA without their consent.
For the disclosure of personal data to be lawful, it must have a lawful basis under Article 6 of the GDPR. There
are six possible lawful bases in Article 6; we do not consider that any of them would be satisfied in respect of
the disclosure.
2
The exemption in section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and is not subject to the public interest test provided
for in section 2(2)(b) of the FOIA. To the extent that the public interest is relevant in this case, the University
considers it is satisfied by the attached information.
INTERNAL REVIEW
If you are dissatisfied with this reply, you may ask the University to review it, by writing to the Head of
Information Compliance at the following address:
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
Alternatively, you may request a review by e-mailin
g xxx@xxxxx.xx.xx.xx
THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
If, after the internal review, you are still dissatisfied, you have the right under FOIA to apply to the Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in accordance with the FOIA. The
Information Commissioner’s address is:
Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123113
Further information for submitting complaints to the Information Commissioner is available at
http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx
Yours sincerely,
FOI OXFORD