Completion and location of Bristol's arena

The request was refused by University of Bristol.

Dear University of Bristol,

Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

In his blog of 15 August 2018, Mayor Marvin Rees appears to suggest that the University of Bristol supports his stance on Bristol’s arena.

In relation to the completion and location of Bristol’s arena, please provide all available information held by or on behalf of the University of Bristol, from 5th May 2016 to the present day, including:
- dates of any meetings at which Bristol’s arena has been discussed, either internal to the University of Bristol, between representatives of the University of Bristol and representatives of Bristol City Council, or between the University of Bristol and other external organisations, together with associated information including:
(a) the location of the meeting;
(b) the identity of all persons in attendance;
(c) details of the subject matter of the discussions, a copy of any agenda and any notes of the meeting;
(d) who met the costs associated with the meetings, including a breakdown of the costs
- copies of all emails and attachments, reports, minutes and any other correspondence associated with the completion or location of Bristol’s arena. Where an email has been identified please disclose the full thread for context.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Yours faithfully,

S Thomas

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Thank you for your e-mail.  The University will endeavour to respond to
your request under the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days.
 However, we are currently experiencing a delay in providing responses.

We are currently short staffed and have a significant backlog
of requests which we are working through as quickly as we can.  This means
that some responses may be delayed beyond the statutory 20 days.  We
apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause. We have contacted the
Information Commissioner’s Office to explain the situation.

 

We may need to ask you certain questions to clarify your request to ensure
we fully understand what information is being requested. If so, the 20
working day deadline will be calculated once we have received such
clarification. 

 

The University's A-Z index can help in locating information that is
publicly available on the University's
website: [1]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/

 

Our Publication Scheme is available
at: [2]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...

 

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) annually publish certain
data about students and higher education, and also have a bespoke data
request service: [3]https://www.hesa.ac.uk/

 

For further information about the University's FOI procedure, please
see: [4]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/
2. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...
3. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/
4. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Dear S. Thomas,

Thank you for your request, which we will process in due course. Before we can do this, however, please could you provide your full name, as required by the legislation and to help us distinguish you from other requestors?

Many thanks,

FOI Team
University of Bristol

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Dear University of Bristol FOI mailbox,
I understand the guidance for FOI requests says that “Mr Arthur Thomas Roberts” can make a valid request as “Arthur Roberts”, “A. T. Roberts”, or “Mr Roberts”, but not as “Arthur” or “A.T.R.”.
Please therefore respond to my request as S Thomas.
If you feel that my understanding is incorrect, please let me know your source.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,

S Thomas

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Dear Mr Young,

Freedom of Information Request: FOI18-383

I refer to your Freedom of Information Request received on 20^th August
2018. 

 

Your Request:

In his blog of 15 August 2018, Mayor Marvin Rees appears to suggest that
the University of Bristol supports his stance on Bristol’s arena.

 

In relation to the completion and location of Bristol’s arena, please
provide all available information held by or on behalf of the University
of Bristol, from 5th May 2016 to the present day, including:

-              dates of any meetings at which Bristol’s arena has been
discussed, either internal to the University of Bristol, between
representatives of the University of Bristol and representatives of
Bristol City Council, or between the University of Bristol and other
external organisations, together with associated information including:

(a) the location of the meeting;

(b) the identity of all persons in attendance;

(c) details of the subject matter of the discussions, a copy of any agenda
and any notes of the meeting;

(d) who met the costs associated with the meetings, including a breakdown
of the costs

-              copies of all emails and attachments, reports, minutes and
any other correspondence associated with the completion or location of
Bristol’s arena. Where an email has been identified please disclose the
full thread for context.

 

University’s Response:

Further to Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”),
we confirm that the information requested is held by the University of
Bristol (the “University”). However, responding to your request would
exceed the appropriate limit, as set out in Section 12 of the Act, the
Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004, and associated guidance. Therefore, your request is
being refused.

For universities, the appropriate limit is set at 18 hours (£450) of staff
time. In calculating the amount of time required to respond to a freedom
of information request, the following actions can be included:

 

•             determining whether the information is held;

•             locating the information, or a document containing it;

•             retrieving the information, or a document containing it; and

•             extracting the information from a document containing it.

 

We have already undertaken a portion of the work that would be required to
respond to your request, in relation to another request previously
received from a different source. This involved relevant senior staff and
their support teams locating and retrieving relevant correspondence and
other items covered by the request. Other key staff members would need to
undertake the same exercise and it is estimated that completing these
actions would take up to 30 hours of staff time. Relevant information
would then need to be extracted from the large amount of emails and other
documents identified, with redaction applied in many cases. It is
confidently calculated that complying with the request would take over
double the 18 hour appropriate limit. Consequently, the University is not
obliged to comply with your request and this email represents a refusal
notice.

 

Internal Review Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request then you have
the right under Section 50 of the Act to request an internal review.  All
such requests must be sent to us within 40 days and must clearly state
your reference number and the reason for your request for an internal
review.  We will respond to your request for an internal review within 20
working days of receipt.

Your request for an internal review should be sent to:

Director of Legal Services,

Secretary’s Office,

University of Bristol,

Senate House,

Tyndall Avenue,

Bristol,

BS8 1TH

Or you can email your request to [1][University of Bristol request email],
quoting your FOI reference number at the head of this email.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Should you remain dissatisfied with the final outcome of the internal
review then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (the “ICO”) for an independent review. The ICO is the Government’s
Independent Body responsible for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act
2000, the Data Protection Act 2018 and The Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.

Please note the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the
University’s internal review procedure. All correspondence to the ICO must
quote the University’s reference number and the reasons for your appeal. 
The ICO’s contact details are as follows:

The Information Commissioners Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

More information can be found at the ICO’s website at
[2]http://www.ico.org.uk .

 

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team

University of Bristol

 

 

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University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Dear S. Thomas,

 

Freedom of Information Request: FOI18-383

 

I refer to your Freedom of Information Request received on 20^th August
2018. 

 

Your Request:

 

In his blog of 15 August 2018, Mayor Marvin Rees appears to suggest that
the University of Bristol supports his stance on Bristol’s arena.

 

In relation to the completion and location of Bristol’s arena, please
provide all available information held by or on behalf of the University
of Bristol, from 5th May 2016 to the present day, including:

-              dates of any meetings at which Bristol’s arena has been
discussed, either internal to the University of Bristol, between
representatives of the University of Bristol and representatives of
Bristol City Council, or between the University of Bristol and other
external organisations, together with associated information including:

(a) the location of the meeting;

(b) the identity of all persons in attendance;

(c) details of the subject matter of the discussions, a copy of any agenda
and any notes of the meeting;

(d) who met the costs associated with the meetings, including a breakdown
of the costs

-              copies of all emails and attachments, reports, minutes and
any other correspondence associated with the completion or location of
Bristol’s arena. Where an email has been identified please disclose the
full thread for context.

 

University’s Response:

 

Further to Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”),
we confirm that the information requested is held by the University of
Bristol (the “University”). However, responding to your request would
exceed the appropriate limit, as set out in Section 12 of the Act, the
Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004, and associated guidance. Therefore, your request is
being refused.

 

For universities, the appropriate limit is set at 18 hours (£450) of staff
time. In calculating the amount of time required to respond to a freedom
of information request, the following actions can be included:

 

•             determining whether the information is held;

•             locating the information, or a document containing it;

•             retrieving the information, or a document containing it; and

•             extracting the information from a document containing it.

 

We have already undertaken a portion of the work that would be required to
respond to your request, in relation to another request previously
received from a different source. This involved relevant senior staff and
their support teams locating and retrieving relevant correspondence and
other items covered by the request. Other key staff members would need to
undertake the same exercise and it is estimated that completing these
actions would take up to 30 hours of staff time. Relevant information
would then need to be extracted from the large amount of emails and other
documents identified, with redaction applied in many cases. It is
confidently calculated that complying with the request would take over
double the 18 hour appropriate limit. Consequently, the University is not
obliged to comply with your request and this email represents a refusal
notice.

 

Internal Review Procedure

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request then you have
the right under Section 50 of the Act to request an internal review.  All
such requests must be sent to us within 40 days and must clearly state
your reference number and the reason for your request for an internal
review.  We will respond to your request for an internal review within 20
working days of receipt.

 

Your request for an internal review should be sent to:

 

Director of Legal Services,

Secretary’s Office,

University of Bristol,

Senate House,

Tyndall Avenue,

Bristol,

BS8 1TH

 

Or you can email your request to [1][University of Bristol request email],
quoting your FOI reference number at the head of this email.

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

 

Should you remain dissatisfied with the final outcome of the internal
review then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (the “ICO”) for an independent review. The ICO is the Government’s
Independent Body responsible for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act
2000, the Data Protection Act 2018 and The Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.

 

Please note the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the
University’s internal review procedure. All correspondence to the ICO must
quote the University’s reference number and the reasons for your appeal. 
The ICO’s contact details are as follows:

 

The Information Commissioners Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

More information can be found at the ICO’s website at
[2]http://www.ico.org.uk .

 

Kind regards,

 

Freedom of Information Team

University of Bristol

 

 

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