Dear Abdul

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Request.

Your request is receiving our attention and you will hear from us again within 20 working days at the latest.

Yours sincerely

Freya Austin

Freya Austin | Information Rights Assistant,
Information Rights, University Secretary’s Office
The Open University, Level 5, Charles Pinfold Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
Email: [Open University request email]  

Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

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Dear Mr Hai,

We write further to your email dated 18^th June containing a request for
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”).

Duty to confirm or deny

The University confirms that it partly holds the information forming your
Request as stated below.  

Communication

Under FOIA, the University has an obligation to provide requesters with
information that it holds in a recorded format at the time of the request,
subject to any applicable exemptions. Some of the information that you
have requested is exempt from disclosure, further information on this is
set out under the heading  “Exemptions” below.

I will address your submitted questions as set out in bold below:

 1. Who took the decision to pause advertising on GB News?

The University holds this information but is unable to release it, as to
do so would breach data protection legislation ; the University is
consequently exempting the request under Section 40 of the FOIA (see
below).

 2. Can you publish all documents in relation to this decision?

The University holds this information but is unable to release it, as to
do so would exceed more than an estimated 18 hours staff time; the
University is consequently exempting the request under Section 12 of the
FOIA (see below). However, under S16 (1) of the FOIA a public authority is
required to provide advice and assistance where section 12 is applied to
enable the requester to re-submit their question within the time limit; we
would therefore advise you to consider limiting the remit of your request
in either in terms of a date period or type of documentation.

 3. What other channels and publications offline and online are you
actively boycotting?

The University does not  hold this information as it is not expressly
sanctioning the publication of any off line or online routes of
publication.

Exemptions

Section 12-  exceeding the “appropriate limit”

This information is exempted from disclosure under section 12 of the FOIA.
Section 12 applies where the time taken to extract the data exceeds an
18-hour time period.  The key documents relating to the decision to stop
advertising with GB news relate to correspondence between staff members.
This correspondence spans a wide variety of staff members across several
communication channels over an extracted time period. Communication
relating to GB news in addition were incorporated with other
correspondence and not necessarily expressly marked. We consequently
estimate that identifying the requested information would take
substantially more than 18 hours to complete.

Section 40(2) – Personal Data of Third Parties

We have exempted your request under section 40 (2) of the FOIA. Whereby
releasing the information would breach Data Protection Legislation. The
details of which staff member made the cited decision is not in the public
domain and it is not the reasonable expectation of that staff member that
their information is so released. In addition they have not provided their
consent to release these details and to do so would contravene the
principles of fairness and transparency set down in both the Data
Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Review

If you have any concerns about the way the University has observed the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act you may apply for your
request to be reviewed.  Freedom of Information Reviews are considered by
the University Secretary or his delegate.  Your request must be submitted
within 40 working days of receipt of this letter/email. Reviews should be
addressed to the above [1]inbox, entitled “FOIA Review”, and should set
out the reasons for the review.   You will have a further right of appeal
to the [2]Information Commissioner’s Office.

Daniel Webb| Senior Manager Information Rights

University Secretary’s Office

The Open University, Level 5 (217), Charles Pinfold Building, Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA

Tel: +44 (0) 1908 332871

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/