University of Bristol
Complete
-- Original Response (17 Nov 2014): Bristol1.pdf
-- Clarification (5 Dec 2014): Bristol2.xlsx (Bristol2.pdf)
From: JJ Hermes
Sent: 20 October 2014 12:14
To: freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk
Subject: FOI request
To whom it may concern,
I respectfully request the following information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act:
1. The names and titles of all senior staff members making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. These individuals are considered "higher-paid staff" by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE).
2. Please identify the number of individuals identified in the first request who are (a) tenured faculty, (b) clinical staff, or (c) serve in a non-classroom capacity, such as administrative staff.
3. The total emoluments for the past five (5) years for each of the senior staff identified in the first request.
There is wide precedent across publicly funded entities in the UK of regularly disclosing this type of information. The Accounts and Audit (Amendment no 2) Regulations of 2009 require local authorities to publish the actual salaries, allowances, bonuses, compensation and employer's pension contributions paid to each employee who earned over £50,000, and in addition to publish the names of those staff who earned over £150,000 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3322/made). It is not necessary to disclose the exact salary of the employees earning more than £150,000, but rather to quote that amount in bands of £10,000, as directed by the HEFCE.
The request holds significant public interest, given that the university is a publicly funded institution of higher education that derives a significant portion of funding from public taxation. In addition, openness is, in itself, something in the public interest in promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public money. As suggested by the Information Commissioner's Office, "It is reasonable to expect that a
public authority would disclose more information relating to senior employees than more junior ones. Senior employees should expect their posts to carry a greater level of accountability." Employees earning more than £150,000 annually can be considered senior employees, since this compensation is more than twice the highest grade on the human resources salary scale.
I look forward to hearing back from you regarding this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any follow-up questions. I would prefer all correspondence be sent digitally through this e-mail address, including the response to this request. Thank you for your time in addressing this query.
Sincerely,
JJ Hermes
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On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 1:00 PM, Freedom Information Mailbox (freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear James
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.
The 20 working day deadline is 17th November 2014.
£
Best wishes
Matt Morrison
Freedom of Information Officer
University of Bristol
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On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 3:32 PM, Freedom Information Mailbox (freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear James
Further to your recent Freedom of Information request, please find the University's response below:
1. The names and titles of all senior staff members making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. These individuals are considered "higher-paid staff" by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE).
Professor Sir Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor
Professor David Clarke, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Andy Nield, Finance Director
Robin Geller, Registrar and Chief Operating Officer
We have interpreted "senior staff members" as members of the University's senior management team (Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Group): ​http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/governance/constitutionaldocs/universityofficers/senior-staff/
2. Please identify the number of individuals identified in the first request who are (a) tenured faculty, (b) clinical staff, or (c) serve in a non-classroom capacity, such as administrative staff.
All of the above are members of the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Group (VCAG) and will fall into category (c) of your question.
3. The total emoluments for the past five (5) years for each of the senior staff identified in the first request.
Please see below for total emoluments:
Bristol1.pdf
If you are not satisfied with the University's response to your request you may ask the University to review the response by writing to:
Director of Legal Services
Secretary's Office
University of Bristol
Senate House
Tyndall Avenue
Bristol BS8 1TH
Email: freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk
enclosing a copy of your original request and explaining your complaint. The full complaints procedure is set out at http://www.bris.ac.uk/foi/publicinfo/review.html
Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40 working days of receipt of this response.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review you may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office at:
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
www.ico.gov.uk
Best wishes
Matt Morrison
Freedom of Information Officer
University of Bristol
-- Attachment: Bristol1.pdf
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On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 8:54 AM, JJ Hermes wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Matt,
Thank you for your positive response on 17 Nov 2014 to my 20 Oct 2014 FOI request for information about senior staff members making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. As a reminder, that request comprised three parts:
1. The names and titles of all senior staff members making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. These individuals are considered "higher-paid staff" by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE).
2. Please identify the number of individuals identified in the first request who are (a) tenured faculty, (b) clinical staff, or (c) serve in a non-classroom capacity, such as administrative staff.
3. The total emoluments for the past five (5) years for each of the senior staff identified in the first request.
I should clarify that "senior staff" identified in part (1) of my initial request was not meant to include only the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Group, but was meant to include all members of staff making more than £150,000 in total emoluments.
Could I please ask that you complete the request identically for all members of staff making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. In order to comply with the most recent decision of the First-Tier Tribunal ruling on 2 Oct 2014 in Case No. EA/2014/0054, an appeal from King's College, you may withhold the names of staff not in the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Group, but I would please request that you categorize them as one of the following, as per part (2) of my original request: (a) academic staff, (b) clinical staff, or (c) non-academic (administrative) staff.
I appreciate your response in full to this request under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000. I look forward to hearing back from you regarding this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any follow-up questions. I would prefer all correspondence be sent digitally through this e-mail address, including the response to this request. Thank you for your time in addressing this query.
Sincerely,
JJ Hermes
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On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 11:05 AM, Freedom Information Mailbox (freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear James
Details of staff paid in excess of £100k are published in our annual Financial Statements, the 2013/14 version is available at:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/finance/documents/fs1314.pdf (p.30)
This publishes salary figures in £10k bandings, as required by HEFCE. Those with distinction awards and other NHS payments are clinical staff.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes
Matt Morrison
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On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 11:29 AM, JJ Hermes wrote (RE: FOI request):
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your prompt response.
I am aware of the annual Financial Statements and the information they contain. However, they do not contain the information I am requesting. Basically, I would like you to:
Please identify all senior staff members making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014. Please categorize them as one of the following, as per part (2) of my original request: (a) academic staff, (b) clinical staff, or (c) senior management. Then, please provide the annual emoluments for the past five (5) years for each of the senior staff making more than £150,000 in total emoluments identified in the first part of this request.
I have submitted this identical request to each of the 24 members of the Russell Group of universities, and a response from the University of Exeter (attached) exemplifies what I consider a complete fulfilment of my request. Note that it protects the personal data of all senior staff with the exception of the senior management team, and provides salary information in bands of £10,000 annually for the past five years. This information is not accessible from the University by any other means than a FOI request.
I appreciate your response in full to this request under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000. I look forward to hearing back from you regarding this request; please do not hesitate to contact me with any follow-up questions. I would prefer all correspondence be sent digitally through this e-mail address, including the response to this request. Thank you for your time in addressing this query.
Sincerely,
JJ Hermes
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On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 4:04 PM, Freedom Information Mailbox (freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear James
Let me speak to out HR team again and see how quickly we can retrieve the data.
I will get back to you shortly.
Best wishes
Matt Morrison
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On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 4:04 PM, Freedom Information Mailbox (freedom-information@bristol.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear James
Further to yesterday's correspondence, please find the further information attached. We have taken Exeter's response as our template for providing this information.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Best wishes
Matt Morrison
-- Attachment: Bristol2.xlsx (Bristol2.pdf)
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