UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD
Ref. FOI/20190206/5
13 March 2019
Reply to request for information under Freedom of Information of Act
Your Ref
FOI/20190206/5
Address
Farrah Abdullah <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
_
Request
According to the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request past Exam Papers
and examiners' reports (external and internal) for English Literature Prelims and FHS
Course I and Course II (includes special options) in the past 7 years. Thank you.
Dear Ms Farrah,
I write in response to your email of 6 February 2019.
Please see the PDFs attached.
Please note that part of your request is for detailed individual level. We consider that the disclosure of this
information in the form requested might enable those with access to other information or knowledge to identify
individuals. For this reason, we have taken the following measures to reduce the risk of individuals being
identified.
We have redacted the names of individuals;
the statistics relating to examinations where the numbers are sufficiently small to enable the identification
of individuals; and
the percentages relating to examinations where it would be possible to use these percentages to calculate
the numbers already redacted.
In taking these measures, 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 qualifications or other information relating to their application to Oxford 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.
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.
2
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
Yours sincerely,
FOI OXFORD