Freedom of Information: privacy notice for requesters
About this privacy notice
This notice explains how your personal data will be used when the University
responds to your Freedom of Information request. The data controller in relation to
your personal data is the University of East Anglia.
How we will use your information
We will collect and hold information about you in order to allow us to fulfil our
statutory obligation to process your Freedom of Information request and provide you
with a response, and to give us certain information to allow us to manage the
administration of requests.
What information will we collect, and why?
As a public authority, the University has a legal obligation to respond to your request.
For a valid request to exist, we must have your name and a contact address that we
can use to correspond with you. We must also have enough detail in your request to
allow us to understand what you are requesting.
We do not need to know, and will never ask for, your reasons for submitting a
request. However, if you choose to provide this or any supplementary information
with your request, the information will be retained within our records of
correspondence with you.
In addition to your name and contact details, to help us to carry out the public task of
assessing and managing our handling of Freedom of Information requests we will
also record information regarding your ‘category’ as a requester (e.g. journalist,
member of the public), only where this information is provided in your request.
How we will keep and share your information
Your personal information will be stored securely on UEA systems and will not be
transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
The only individuals within UEA with access to your personal data will be staff
managing your request. Your identity will not be shared with other UEA staff
members. If we believe our response to your request will lead to the publication of a
news story relating to the University, we will share our response, but not your identity,
with our internal Communications Office.
We will not normally share your data with any third party, except where required by
law, or where you have submitted a complaint about our handling of your request to
the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and we are obliged to provide
information to the ICO at their request.
Your information will be securely deleted at the end of the appropriate retention
period (see below).
How long will we keep your information?
Most information relating to the University’s administration of a Freedom of
Information request will only be kept for one year after the date of our response.
Limited correspondence with you, and basic information describing your request will
be kept on file, in line with our records retention policy1. Our response to you will be
anonymised then published on our Disclosure Log for a period of 5 years.
Your rights / concerns and complaints
You have certain rights in relation to your personal data we hold and you can find out
more about your rights at: https://portal.uea.ac.uk/information-services/strategy-
planning-and-compliance/regulations-and-policies/information-regulations-and-
policies/data-protection/your-rights
If you are unhappy with how we’ve used your personal data please contact the
University’s Data Protection Officer in the first instance (see below). You can also
make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office. See:
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
How to contact us
You can contact the University’s Data Protection Officer by email at:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx.xx, by phone on +44 (0)1603 59 2431, or by mail at the
following address:
Information Compliance
The Library
University of East Anglia
Norwich Research Park
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
Last updated: 16/05/18
1 https://portal.uea.ac.uk/documents/6207125/7105351/ISD%2BRRS.pdf/ef924a1f-634d-447f-8b63-
330df1805e80