Prevent - University registers of research and 'firewalls' (corrects omission of full name in previous request)

The request was refused by School of Oriental and African Studies.

(NOTE: This request is being made to correct the omission of my full name in a request which was made on October 15. The request is exactly the same. Please find my full name at the end of this message)

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide the following:

1. Your Prevent action plan or any document that outlines your institution’s Prevent policy in line with your obligations under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015

2. Confirm if students, researchers and members of staff are obliged to register research which is deemed to be security sensitive

3. If such a register exists, the number of entries for each of the years 2018 (up to the date of this request), 2017, 2016 and 2015. By entries, I mean occasions on which individuals have registered research which falls into the category set out in bullet point 2. If possible, please identify the nature of the research (eg PhD, internally funded, externally funded) and topic

4. If such a register exists, confirm whether or not it is stored onsite or on an external server.

5. If such a register exists, confirm whether the register is subject to any information sharing agreements with external partners or agencies including local and regional Prevent coordinators, the Home Office, the local Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit, the local police or any other law enforcement agencies

6. A list of any agreements, arrangements or Memorandums of Understanding between your institution and bodies such as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), or Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London Police, to receive lists of illegal or illicit content, for instance for the purposes of blocking.

7. Confirm if any filtering or blocking service that your institution uses incorporate lists from the IWF, CTIRU or PIPCU, and which lists are incorporated.

Yours faithfully,
Ben Quinn

Information Compliance Manager, School of Oriental and African Studies

Dear Ben Quinn,

Thank you for your request for information which has been received by
SOAS.

We will provide you with the School’s response as soon as possible and
within 20 working days of the date of your request.

Yours sincerely,

Olenka Cogias

Records Manager and Archivist

-- 

Governance and Compliance Directorate
SOAS, University of London
Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
[1][email address]   [2]http://www.soas.ac.uk/infocomp

The world's leading institution for the study of Asia, Africa and the
Middle East

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Information Compliance Manager, School of Oriental and African Studies

FOI2018/227

 

Dear Ben Quinn,

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request of 22^nd October
2018. I have reproduced your questions below together with SOAS’s
response.

 

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide the following:
1. Your Prevent action plan or any document that outlines your
institution’s Prevent policy in line with your obligations under the
Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015
2. Confirm if students, researchers and members of staff are obliged to
register research which is deemed to be security sensitive
3. If such a register exists, the number of entries for each of the years
2018 (up to the date of this request), 2017, 2016 and 2015. By entries, I
mean occasions on which individuals have registered research which falls
into the category set out in bullet point 2. If possible, please identify
the nature of the research (eg PhD, internally funded, externally funded)
and topic
4. If such a register exists, confirm whether or not it is stored onsite
or on an external server.
5. If such a register exists, confirm whether the register is subject to
any information sharing agreements with external partners or agencies
including local and regional Prevent coordinators, the Home Office, the
local Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit, the local police or any other
law enforcement agencies
6. A list of any agreements, arrangements or Memorandums of Understanding
between your institution and bodies such as the Internet Watch Foundation
(IWF), the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) of the
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), or Police Intellectual Property Crime
Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London Police, to receive lists of illegal or
illicit content, for instance for the purposes of blocking.
7. Confirm if any filtering or blocking service that your institution uses
incorporate lists from the IWF, CTIRU or PIPCU, and which lists are
incorporated.

 

Our response

 

It is SOAS’s view that your request is a repeat request, being identical
in wording and scope to the request submitted by you on 16^th October
2018, and responded to by SOAS on 12^th November 2018. 

Under section 14(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, SOAS is not obliged
to respond to repeat requests. 

 

 

Your right to appeal
I hope that you are satisfied with this response, but in the event that
you are not, you may request an internal review, by writing to me at the
following address:

 

Information Compliance Manager

SOAS, University of London

Thornhaugh Street

Russell Square

London WC1H 0XG

United Kingdom

 

Email: [1][SOAS request email]

 

If it does not prove possible to resolve your complaint informally, I will
arrange for a formal review of the handling of your request according to
the School's procedures. These can be found on SOAS's website at
[2]http://www.soas.ac.uk/infocomp/foi/appea....

 

If you are dissatisfied with SOAS's response following this internal
review, you can apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision on
whether your request has been dealt with in accordance with the
requirements of the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental
Information Regulations. The Commissioner will normally require you to
have gone through our internal appeal process first before they consider
your appeal. If the Commissioner finds in your favour, the Commissioner
can require SOAS to release the information to you. The Commissioner can
be contacted at the following address:

 

Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

United Kingdom

 

Further information about your right to appeal to the Information
Commissioner is available on the Commissioner's website
([3]http://www.ico.org.uk/).

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Ogden

Information Compliance Manager

-- 

Governance and Compliance Directorate

SOAS, University of London
Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
[4][email address]   [5]http://www.soas.ac.uk/infocomp

The world's leading institution for the study of Asia, Africa and the
Middle East

 

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