Dear Sarah,

I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 received by The University of Manchester yesterday, our reference as per the subject line.

The University will respond to your request within 20 working days.

Kind regards,

Polly

My usual working days are Wednesday morning, Thursday and Friday.  I job-share with Paula Egerton who usually works Monday, Tuesday and Thursday morning. 

Polly Smith | Information Officer | Information Governance Office | Directorate of Compliance and Risk | Professional Services | G.004 | Christie Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester | M13 9PL | 0161 200 8799| www.manchester.ac.uk. Please contact me on Teams or email as I may not be working in the office to take your call.

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Dear Sarah

 

I am writing in response to your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 whereby you requested -

 

'I would like to know for MED Psychology of Education for the 2022/23,
2021/22, 2020/21 and 2018/19 admission cycles:

 

- the number of applications,

- the number of offers made,

- the number of acceptances'.

 

The University has now considered your request and unfortunately the
information you are seeking cannot be provided at this time. This is

because it is deemed to be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the listed
exemption at Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 –

Commercial Interests. Further details of this follow in the refusal notice
below.

 

Refusal Notice

 

This Refusal Notice has been issued under Section 17 (1) of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). Under Section 1 (1) of the FOIA The University of

Manchester confirms that the information requested is held but we are
refusing to provide it in response to your request for the reasons set out

below.

 

Section 43 (2) – Commercial Interests

 

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would,
or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person

(including the public authority holding it).

 

We are applying Section 43 (2) as a prejudice-based exemption. We may rely
on this exemption if the disclosure would prejudice someone’s commercial

interests (including the University’s own). Commercial interests may be
prejudiced where a disclosure would be likely to:

 

· Damage its business reputation or the confidence that customers,

suppliers or investors may have in it

 

· Have a detrimental impact on its commercial revenue or threaten its

ability to obtain supplies or secure finance

 

· Weaken its position in a competitive environment by revealing market

sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to its

competitors.

 

It is the latter of these three points that The University of Manchester
feels is relevant to this request. To determine where the public interest

lies with regard to this exemption, we have previously liaised extensively
with relevant staff in the University regarding requests of this nature,

including the Director of Student Recruitment & International Development,
the Heads of Teaching, Learning and the Student Experience in Faculties as

well as the University’s Head of Student Data, Analysis and Records.

 

All felt that releasing information of the type requested at course level
would impact on the University’s competitive advantage and would therefore

prejudice our commercial interests. Providing information on the level of
applications, offers and enrolments at course level would give a new or

existing competitor key information about our programmes. This could
enable them to either start a new course themselves (by identifying a

perceived gap in the market which could then impact on our numbers of
applications, offers and/or acceptances) or to more aggressively compete

with us/poach from us (as they identify they could be able to gain a
bigger share of the market which could then impact on our numbers of

applications, offers and/or acceptances). Any disclosure under the FOIA is
considered as a disclosure to the world, so whereas it may not be your

intention to use the information in this way, it must be an important
factor in our considerations.

 

Public Interest Test

 

As Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption we are required to carry out a
public interest test to determine if the commercial interest is overridden

by the public interest from a release of the information concerned.

 

Factors in Favour of Disclosure

 

There is public interest in disclosing applications and offer data. To do
so would ensure that members of the public can be satisfied that the

University of Manchester is open and transparent. It may also assist
public debate with regard to the issue of student recruitment and offer

making.

 

Factors Against Disclosure

 

Universities operate in an ever and increasingly competitive environment
and as such, the University would not wish to disclose information that

would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests and our position
within this environment.

 

Therefore, we believe that for the reasons outlined above, the balance
lies in maintaining the exemption at this time.

 

I am sorry that we are unable to provide information in response to your
request on this occasion.

 

If you feel that The University of Manchester has refused access to
information to which you are entitled, or has not dealt with your request

appropriately under the FOIA, you have a right of appeal.

 

An appeal in the first instance should be directed to the Information

Governance Office at [email address]. You should include:

 

·         details of your initial request

 

·         any other relevant information

 

 

You must make this appeal within 40 working days from receipt of your
response. We will not accept appeals received after this date, as per the

Freedom of Information Code of Practice, Section 5.3.

 

The University will deal with your appeal within a reasonable time, and
will inform you of the projected time scale on receipt of your complaint.

You are also welcome to contact the Information Governance Office with
informal questions about the handling of your request.

 

After The University’s internal appeals procedure has been exhausted, you 
have a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner’s

Office. Details of this procedure can be found at [2]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Best wishes

Holly

 

Holly Haslam| Information Officer | Information Governance Office |
Directorate of Compliance and Risk |Professional Services | G7 Christie
Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester | M13
9PL | Tel +44(0) 161 306 7549| [1]www.manchester.ac.uk

 

[2]data_matters_logo2-(3)

We are all responsible for protecting personal data held by the
University, including who we share that data with. Stop and think before
you send your email.  For further guidance see:
[3]www.dataprotection.manchester.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

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1. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/
3. http://www.dataprotection.manchester.ac....