Prevent - University registers of research and 'firewalls'
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;
Dear Ben
I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 15 October 2018 in which you requested information regarding Prevent.
Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI18-358 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 12 November 2018.
Where we consider that we will not be able to meet this deadline or if further time is required to consider the public interest test we will contact you as soon as possible and give you a revised date for response.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.
Yours sincerely
Gail Thomas
Swyddog Sicrwydd
Adran Cynllunio Strategol a Llywodraethu
Prifysgol Caerdydd
2il Lawr, Friary House
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
Ffôn: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Ebost : [email address]
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg.
Gail Thomas
Assurance Officer
Strategic Planning and Governance
Cardiff University
2nd Floor, Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
CF10 3AE
Tel: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Email: [email address]
The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English.
Dear Ben
Further to our email of 16 October, unfortunately we are unable to provide a response by the original deadline of 12 November. We anticipate that we will require a further 9 working days and should therefore be in a position to provide you with a response by 23 November. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Kind regards
Gail
Gail Thomas
Swyddog Sicrwydd
Adran Cynllunio Strategol a Llywodraethu
Prifysgol Caerdydd
2il Lawr, Friary House
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
Ffôn: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Ebost : [email address]
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.
Gail Thomas
Assurance Officer
Strategic Planning and Governance
Cardiff University
2nd Floor, Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
CF10 3AE
Tel: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Email: [email address]
The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
Dear Ben
I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 15 October 2018 in which you requested information regarding Prevent.
For ease of reference, I have reproduced your question(s) below and set out our corresponding response(s).
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
Cardiff University's Prevent Policy can be found on our website at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-informa... .
2. Confirm if students, researchers and members of staff are obliged to register research which is deemed to be security sensitive
In April 2018, Cardiff University launched its Security-Sensitive Research Policy (SSR Policy). Since this date, all Researchers have been obliged to register research falling within the scope of the Policy. The Policy is attached for completeness.
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
The University’s Security-sensitive Research Register (SSR Register) was created following the launch of the SSR Policy in April 2018. Since this date, no projects have been registered.
Prior to the introduction of the SSR Register, notification was received in October 2017 of one security-sensitive research project. The research in question was an externally funded PhD research project which involved accessing known far-right websites to assess if, and how, rapes and sexual assaults against women were re-contextualised.
4. If such a register exists, confirm whether or not it is stored onsite or on an external server.
The SSR Register is stored onsite.
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
There are no formal information sharing agreements in place in relation to the SSR Register. However, the SSR Policy allows for disclosure of information from the SSR Register if permitted by law and makes it clear that information contained within the SSR Register may be used for responding to enquiries from legitimate external authorities, including the police and security services.
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.
The University does not have any agreements, arrangements or Memorandums of Understanding with the bodies listed.
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;
Yes, the filtering or blocking service provided by our firewall vendor does incorporate IWF and CTIRU lists.
I trust this information satisfies your enquiry. The University has a Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure should you feel dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was handled. Complaints must be made in writing and must set out why you believe the University has not met its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. You may email your complaint to [email address] where it will be forwarded to the Director of Strategic Planning and Governance who will be responsible for overseeing the review.
If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for consideration. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in Cardiff University. If you require further assistance please feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Gail Thomas
Swyddog Sicrwydd
Adran Cynllunio Strategol a Llywodraethu
Prifysgol Caerdydd
2il Lawr, Friary House
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
Ffôn: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Ebost : [email address]
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.
Gail Thomas
Assurance Officer
Strategic Planning and Governance
Cardiff University
2nd Floor, Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
CF10 3AE
Tel: +44 (029) 2087 5327
Email: [email address]
The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
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