THE UNIVERSITY
of EDINBURGH
Records Management Section
The University of Edinburgh
Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh EH8 9YL
Direct Dial 0131 651 4099
Switchboard 0131 650 1000
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xx.xx
25 November 2022
www.ed.ac.uk/records-management
File ref: IR2022/00573
; FOI2022/00572
J Dennis
Sent by email: request-904888-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear J Dennis
Internal Review: IR2022/00573; FOI2022/00572
Thank you for your email of 2 November 2022 requesting a review of the University’s
handling of your request for information about the contract and communications between
the University of Edinburgh an Edinburgh First,
FOI2022/00572, on the basis that we
failed to provide a response within the statutory 20 working days.
Your request for information was submitted via WhatDoTheyKnow on 4 October. The
University’s response was due on 1 November 2022
. On 2 November you requested a
review.
Review decision
The Records Management Section did not receive your original email containing your
request because it was caught by the University’s spam filter and was not released to our
email inbox. Our review decision is therefore that you should receive the response to
your request as soon as possible. This letter provides our response to your request and
explains your right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Office if you are
dissatisfied.
Apology
I sincerely apologise for the delay in providing this response. Your original request via
WhatDoTheyKnow was caught in a spam filter and should have been subsequently
released to us, however, unfortunately it did not get released. We were made aware of
your original request when we received your email requesting a review. The rule that
caused your original email to be classified as spam is no longer in place, therefore this
should not happen again. If your original request had been received by our email
mailbox, it would have generated an automatic initial acknowledgement email. As you wil
see from the WhatDoTheyKnow record of your request, the email was not generated.
Response to your freedom of information request
You asked for the contract(s) signed between the University and Edinburgh First,
regarding cafes/catering/retail at campuses, including but not limited to King's Buildings.
University Secretary: Ms Leigh Chalmers
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336
Edinburgh First is an old trading name of
UoE Accommodation Ltd which is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh. It is currently trading a
s The University
of Edinburgh Hospitality & Events Collection. Furthermore, al staff working at the cafes
are employees of the University of Edinburgh and many employees are students. The
University is a “Living Wage employer”, unlike the majority of the private sector who wil
pay the lower National Living wage. Furthermore, any profits made are invested back into
the University to use on students and research projects amongst other things.
The University does not hold a contract for UoE Accommodation Ltd because it is a
wholly owned subsidiary of the University.
You also requested any information/communications about anything regarding
competition/anti-competition, and the provision of Edinburgh First with a monopoly on
food/retail/catering on campuses at the University.
The University does not have information or communications relevant to your request.
There is no reason to discuss competition on University premises as all services are
provided by the University or its wholly owned subsidiary.
Right to appeal
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may ask the Scottish Information
Commissioner to investigate. You must do so within six months of receipt of this
response. The
Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on making an appeal
describes the process for making an appeal to the Commissioner, including the
application form. If you do not have access to the Internet, I can provide a copy of the
relevant web pages, or you can contact the Commissioner's Office using the details
below. When the appeal process has been completed, if you are stil dissatisfied, you
have the right to appeal to the Court of Session, but on a point of law only.
Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS
Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Privacy notice for information request applicants
The University of Edinburgh's request privacy notice, which describes how we use the
information you have supplied about yourself and your request, is published on the
University website.
Yours sincerely
Jennifer Stewart
Records Management Section
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If you require this letter in an alternative format, such as large print or
a coloured background, please contact the Records Management
Section on 0131 651 4099 or email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xx.xx
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Document Outline