Thank you for your enquiry. This message confirms that your request for information has been successfully delivered. This has been logged and will be passed to colleagues within Information Services, who will identify the most appropriate department within the University to process your request for information.

The reference number for your enquiry is FOI[235694]. Please quote this number if you contact the University regarding any additional information on your information request.

A copy of your request for information will be sent to you, if you have provided an e-mail address.

The University will make every effort to provide you with the information that you have requested. However in some circumstances it may not be possible to provide you with an answer to your enquiry. Where the University believes it is not possible to provide you with the information you have requested, we will inform you in writing.

If the information you are seeking is already published by the University, and is available to members of the public, we will send you details outlining how to access the information.

The University may need to charge to cover the costs of processing your information request, and any copying. If it is necessary for the University to charge a fee, until payment is received the information requested will not be released.

It may be necessary for the University to contact you to request additional information to process your enquiry. If we cannot determine exactly what information you require, we will contact you as soon as possible to clarify your request.

If you have any further questions regarding your request for information, please contact:

Chris Milne
Information Manager
Knowledge Management & Information Team
Information Services
Tel (01382) 308864
E-mail [email address]

Regards
Jackie Proven

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Dear Ben,

University of Abertay Dundee, Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 *
Student Suicide.

Thank you for your information request 18 April 2010 concerning incidents
of suicide amongst the University*s student population and details of the
numbers of students who have sought assistance from the University for a
range of conditions (as described in your enquiry), along with details of
suicide prevention strategies.

The University*s response confirms where information:

§ Is held and has been released;

§ Requested of it is not held; and

§ Requested of it is held and has not been released, and the
exemption available under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
(FOISA) that has been applied on this occasion to withhold the information
requested.

The University*s response

Student suicides

The University records incidents of student death as part of the student
record, but does not record any information pertaining to cause of death.
Subsequently, the University is unable to provide you with information
with regard to the number of student suicides covering the period
specified in your enquiry.

It may be the case that this information is available in the public domain
via the Procurator Fiscal, Caledonian House, Greenmarket, Dundee DD1 4QA,
or the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, K floor, Argyle House, Lady
Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR

For the reasons provided above, I can confirm that the University does not
hold any information on student suicides.

Suicide prevention strategy

The Head of Student Services has confirmed that the University does not
have a suicide prevention strategy per se. However, the University does
have a number of policies and procedures in place to support the mental
wellbeing and health & safety of students. Copies of relevant documents
concerning student mental wellbeing have been provided as part of the
University*s response. With reference to the specific question (i.e. does
the University have a suicide prevention strategy) I can confirm that no
information is held.

Students who have approached the University with mental health issues

The University has provided you with copies of the Student Services annual
report for the session 2008/9. This report provides you with the
statistical information you have requested for the periods described.

However, the University has not provided you with any statistical
breakdown on the numbers of students who have sought help for a mental
health condition where the numbers involved in any given period, for a
named condition are less than 5. In this instance the University has
applied the exemption available under section 38(1)(b) FOISA i.e. personal
information.

Information withheld: (sensitive) personal information

For the University to successful withhold personal information via the
FOISA exemption cited it must demonstrate that the information:

§ Is personal data as per the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA); and

§ Release of the personal data would be unlawful i.e. to do so
would breach one of the data protection principles.

The University is satisfied that the information withheld is personal data
as:

§ Although the information withheld is statistical * there are
instances where the release of statistical data could lead to the
identification of an individual (see paragraph 38 Office of the Scottish
Information Commissioner, Decision 014/2009 Dunbritton Housing
Association, Craigdale Housing Association and Blochairn Housing
Co-operative and the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police). This Decision
assessed the ability to identify an individual from statistical data,
where the population sample was small and from other information which a
determined person could source;

§ The University on-campus student population is relatively small
circa 3,600 students. To report for example that 2 students sought help in
2008/9 for eating disorders introduces a risk that those persons could be
identified * certainly as the numbers fall to say 1 the risk of
identification increases substantially;

§ Thus where the numbers of students who have sought help for a
mental health condition, for a specified condition in any given year is
less than 5 the University believes that the persons concerned could be
identified.

Here the University has concluded that this statistical data withheld is
personal data (in terms of the DPA) as the information relates to an
individual who can be identified from that data. Furthermore, this
information by its very nature falls within the definition of sensitive
personal data as per section 2(e) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)
i.e. is connected with a physical or mental health condition.

Sensitive personal data requires a high level of protection. For release
of this information to be lawful, the University must find a valid
condition under Schedule 3 of the DPA. The only condition available of
relevance here is that of the explicit consent of each individual has been
provided to allow release of the information requested. As no consent to
release of the information described is available * to do so would be
unlawful, breaching the first data protection principle - thus validating
the University*s application of the exemption available under s38(1)(b)
FOISA. As this exemption is absolute, no further consideration of the
public interest test is required.

Information not held

The University is required by s.17 FOISA to confirm in writing where
information requested of it is not held. I would consider that the
University*s response provides an information not held notice with respect
to information requested on student suicides and the availability of a
suicide prevention strategy.

Your right to seek a review of how your information request was managed

If you are not satisfied with our response or our reasoning set-out above,
you have forty working days in which to request a review of our decision.
Any request should be put in writing and should be sent to Professor
Nicholas Terry, University of Abertay Dundee, at the address provided
below. The request should:

(a) detail your request for a review of our decision to be undertaken;

(b) describe the nature of your original request; and

(c) explain the reasons why you are dissatisfied with our response.

Professor N Terry

Vice-Principal and Deputy-Vice Chancellor

University of Abertay Dundee

Bell Street

Dundee

DD1 1HD

Tel (01382) 308016

E-mail [1][email address]

If you remain dissatisfied with how your request for information has been
dealt with, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether we have handled your request
properly.

Information relating to your right to seek review is available from the
Scottish Information Commissioner's web page at:

[2]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/faqs.... or by contacting the
Scottish Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:

Scottish Information Commissioner,

Kinburn Castle,

Doubledykes Road, St Andrews,

Fife KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

E-mail: [3][email address]

Website: [4]www.itspublicknowledge.info

This concludes the University*s response.

Yours sincerely,

Chris

Christopher Milne
Information Manager
University of Abertay Dundee
E-mail [5][email address]
Tel (01382) 308864
[mobile number]

In the UK top ten for lowest student debts upon completing university
(Push Student Debt Survey 2008)

The University of Abertay Dundee is a charity registered in Scotland, No:
SC016040

References

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