Dear West College Scotland,

Under Freedom of Information Scotland, I wish to receive the following information within 20 working days:

1. Please advise over the period (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2017), the number of staff who listed stress as one of the reasons for sickness. For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

2. Of these staff identified above, how many were subsequently discovered to be related to work? For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

3. How many days were lost as a result of any kind of stress? For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

4. How many days were lost as a result of workplace stress? For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

5. How many individual stress risk assessments have been carried out by the College? For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

6. How many occupational group risk assessments have been carried out by the College? For clarity, I would be grateful if you could supply figures broken down separately year on year for the following time periods (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 and 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

7. Do you have a specific stress Policy and/or procedure? If so, please attach.

8. Do you have a specific stress workgroup? If so, please attach minutes/action points for last year.

For each point, could you please provide the information broken down into numbers for support staff/lecturers and staff earning over £70,000 PA for each of the time periods listed above?

Yours faithfully,

John Gallacher

Dear FOI,

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 give an individual age 12 and over, the right to ask for and be given information from a wide range of public organisations in Scotland, your college being one of them. I have the right to Information showing whether public authority policies are working well, and if best value for the public pound is being achieved. The legitimacy of my request lies within the legislation of the act. To further assist you in responding to my request, I will provide you with the following information: Personal Information - Personal information about someone else is exempt from release under freedom of information law if it is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. Authorities which hold personal information have responsibilities under this Act and may be committing an offence if they give out personal information to other people. The definition of "personal information" is important (see below). If the information you are requesting does not fall within that definition, then the authority cannot claim the Personal Information exemption in freedom of information law as a reason to withhold it. Even though it may be personal information, information about the work of public authority employees can sometimes be released in response to freedom of information requests. The (UK) Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing data protection laws. His view is that information which is about the home or family life of an individual, personal finances or personal references is likely to deserve protection. By contrast, where an individual is acting in an official or work capacity, information relating to this part of a person’s life should normally be provided. Authorities can only use the personal information exemption to withhold information from you if the information you have requested is about living individuals who could be identified from that information. So, for example, if you asked for the names of people on a waiting list for a service, this information would probably be personal information. But general information about the number of people on a waiting list is unlikely to reveal information about living people who could be identified and therefore could not be withheld under the personal information exemption. It will depend on the circumstances of the case.

I hope this clarifies your request and look forward to receiving the information within the statutory 20 working days of my original request.

Yours sincerely,

John Gallacher

Dear West College Scotland,

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 give an individual age 12 and over, the right to ask for and be given information from a wide range of public organisations in Scotland, your college being one of them. I have the right to Information showing whether public authority policies are working well, and if best value for the public pound is being achieved. The legitimacy of my request lies within the legislation of the act. To further assist you in responding to my request, I will provide you with the following information: Personal Information - Personal information about someone else is exempt from release under freedom of information law if it is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. Authorities which hold personal information have responsibilities under this Act and may be committing an offence if they give out personal information to other people. The definition of "personal information" is important (see below). If the information you are requesting does not fall within that definition, then the authority cannot claim the Personal Information exemption in freedom of information law as a reason to withhold it. Even though it may be personal information, information about the work of public authority employees can sometimes be released in response to freedom of information requests. The (UK) Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing data protection laws. His view is that information which is about the home or family life of an individual, personal finances or personal references is likely to deserve protection. By contrast, where an individual is acting in an official or work capacity, information relating to this part of a person’s life should normally be provided. Authorities can only use the personal information exemption to withhold information from you if the information you have requested is about living individuals who could be identified from that information. So, for example, if you asked for the names of people on a waiting list for a service, this information would probably be personal information. But general information about the number of people on a waiting list is unlikely to reveal information about living people who could be identified and therefore could not be withheld under the personal information exemption. It will depend on the circumstances of the case.

I hope this clarifies your request and look forward to receiving the information within the statutory 20 working days of my original request.

Yours faithfully,

John Gallacher