University of Bristol and BGI Genomics

John Lubbock made this Freedom of Information request to University of Bristol Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was successful.

Dear University of Bristol,

I am conducting a survey of UK higher educational institutions to find out which have had business dealings with the Chinese genomic sequencing company BGI Genomics.

I would like to ask whether your university has ever had any contracts or business relationships with BGI Genomics or its UK subsidiary MGI Tech UK. If there has been any work undertaken by BGI Genomics with your university, please can you provide a list of these contracts with dates from and to, and a short description of what the contract was for. I would like to clarify that I am requesting information on any contracts with BGI Genomics from 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2023.

Yours faithfully,

John Lubbock

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Thank you for your e-mail. The University will endeavour to respond to
your request under the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days
of receipt.

We may need to ask you certain questions to clarify your request to ensure
we fully understand what information is being requested. If so, the 20
working day deadline will be calculated once we have received such
clarification. 

 

The University's A-Z index can help in locating information that is
publicly available on the University's
website: [1]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/

 

Our Publication Scheme is available
at: [2]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...

 

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) annually publish certain
data about students and higher education: [3]https://www.hesa.ac.uk/.
Bespoke datasets can be requested from
Jisc: [4]https://www.jisc.ac.uk/tailored-datasets.

 

For further information about the University's FOI procedure, please
see: [5]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/
2. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...
3. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/
4. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/tailored-datasets
5. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

SecOInformation Governance, University of Bristol

Dear Mr Lubbock
We write to acknowledge receipt of your email dated 1 May 2023. We assume
that you intended this to act as clarification of the timeframe in
relation to the request for information in your previous email dated 24
April 2023. We will therefore treat it as part of the same request (under
our reference FOI23198), but we will now take 2 May 2023 (as 1 May was a
bank holiday) as being the date of receipt of your request. The deadline
for the University to respond to your request is now 31 May 2023.
Kind regards
Freedom of information team
Legal Services, Governance and Information Compliance - Office of the
University Secretary
University of Bristol
Email: [1][University of Bristol request email]
Please quote our reference number in all correspondence.
 

To: SecOInformation Governance ([University of Bristol request email])
From: John Lubbock ([FOI #977251 email])
Title: Freedom of Information request - University of Bristol and BGI
Genomics
Sent: 01/05/2023 13:51

Dear University of Bristol,

I am conducting a survey of UK higher educational institutions to find out
which have had business dealings with the Chinese genomic sequencing
company BGI Genomics.

I would like to ask whether your university has ever had any contracts or
business relationships with BGI Genomics or its UK subsidiary MGI Tech UK.
If there has been any work undertaken by BGI Genomics with your
university, please can you provide a list of these contracts with dates
from and to, and a short description of what the contract was for. I would
like to clarify that I am requesting information on any contracts with BGI
Genomics from 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2023.

Yours faithfully,

John Lubbock

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References

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1. mailto:[University of Bristol request email]

SecOInformation Governance, University of Bristol

Dear Mr Lubbock

 

Freedom of Information Request (our reference FOI23198)

 

We refer to your Freedom of Information request dated 24 April 2023. You
requested the following information:

 

“… whether your university has ever had any contracts or business
relationships with BGI Genomics. If there has been any work undertaken by
BGI Genomics with your university, please can you provide a list of these
contracts with dates from and to, and a short description of what the
contract was for.”

 

On 1 May 2023, you expanded your request to include information about
contracts or business relationships with the UK subsidiary of BGI
Genomics, MGI Tech UK. You also stipulated that the timeframe you are
interested in is 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2023.

 

University’s Response

 

Further to Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’) we
confirm that the information requested is not held by the University of
Bristol (‘the University’). We can find no record of any contract or
business relationship with either BGI Genomics or MGI Tech UK during the
period specified.

 

Internal Review Procedure

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, then you have a
right (in accordance with the Code of Practice issued under Section 45 of
the Act) to request an internal review.  All such requests must be sent to
us within 40 days, clearly stating your reason for requesting an internal
review.  We will aim to respond to your request for an internal review
within 20 working days of receipt.

 

Your request for an internal review should be sent to
[1][University of Bristol request email], quoting our FOI reference number
(see above). Alternatively, you could post it to:

 

Director of Legal Services

Secretary’s Office

University of Bristol

Beacon House

Queens Road

Bristol

BS8 1QU

 

Information Commissioners Office

 

Should you remain dissatisfied with the final outcome of the internal
review then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (‘the
ICO’) for an independent review.  The ICO is the Government’s Independent
Body responsible for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the
Data Protection Act 2018 and The Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

 

Please note the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the
University’s internal review procedure. All correspondence to the ICO must
quote the University’s reference number and your reasons for your appeal. 
The ICO’s contact details are as follows:

 

The Information Commissioners Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

More information can be found on the ICO’s website
at [2]http://www.ico.org.uk

 

Kind Regards

 

Freedom of Information Team

University of Bristol

To: SecOInformation Governance ([University of Bristol request email])
From: John Lubbock ([FOI #977251 email])
Title: Freedom of Information request - University of Bristol and BGI
Genomics
Sent: 01/05/2023 13:51

Dear University of Bristol,
I am conducting a survey of UK higher educational institutions to find out
which have had business dealings with the Chinese genomic sequencing
company BGI Genomics.
I would like to ask whether your university has ever had any contracts or
business relationships with BGI Genomics or its UK subsidiary MGI Tech UK.
If there has been any work undertaken by BGI Genomics with your
university, please can you provide a list of these contracts with dates
from and to, and a short description of what the contract was for. I would
like to clarify that I am requesting information on any contracts with BGI
Genomics from 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2023.
Yours faithfully,
John Lubbock
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #977251 email]
Is [University of Bristol request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to University of Bristol? If so, please contact us
using this form:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[University of Bristol request email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/