Durham University
Partially Complete, Awaiting Clarification on why 4 instead of 6 staff
-- Original Response (17 Nov 2014): Durham1.pdf
From: JJ Hermes
Sent: 20 October 2014 12:15
To: info.access@durham.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 Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 3:22 PM, ACCESS I. (info.access@durham.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Name: James Hermes
Email: jamesjhermes@gmail.com
Dear Mr Hermes,
Freedom of Information Request
I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 20th October 2014 requesting information from Durham University.
Please be advised that the University will respond as soon as possible and in any event by 17th November 2014.
Yours sincerely,
Durham Burt
Deputy Information and Data Protection Manager
Governance and Executive Support
Durham University
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On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 3:33 PM, ACCESS I. (info.access@durham.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Mr Hermes,
Thank you for your request for information from Durham University. Please see our 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).
Vice-Chancellor and Warden
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Chief Operating Officer
Pro Vice-Chancellor Research
For names please see, https://www.dur.ac.uk/directory/.
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.
There are no clinical staff in the group above. The Chief Operating Officer is an administrative role.
3. The total emoluments for the past five (5) years for each of the senior staff identified in the first request.
In line with guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, the University is able to provide you with the information below which shows salary information in bands of £10,000 for members of the University's Senior Management Team.
Durham1.pdf
I hope this information is useful.
Yours sincerely,
Durham Burt
Deputy Information and Data Protection Manager
Governance and Executive Support
Durham University
-- Attachment: Durham1.pdf
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On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 3:33 PM, JJ Hermes wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Durham,
Thank you for your recent response 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.
In your 17 Nov response, you identified four members of staff (the Vice-Chancellor and Warden, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Pro Vice-Chancellor Research) as making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014.
However, on p. 32 of your 2013/14 annual financial statements (http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/treasurer/financial_statements/FinancialStatements2014.pdf) you report six members of staff making more than £150,000 in total emoluments for the year ended 31 July 2014.
Could you please provide the banded salary information for the other two members of staff missing from your 17 Nov response, or please explain the discrepancy? Thank you.
Sincerely,
JJ Hermes
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On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 9:53 AM, ACCESS I. (info.access@durham.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Mr Hermes,
I acknowledge receipt of your email. The University will respond as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Durham Burt
Deputy Information and Data Protection Manager
Governance and Executive Support
Durham University
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On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 10:25 AM, ACCESS I. (info.access@durham.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Mr Hermes,
Thank you for your email. Colleagues have confirmed that the other two individuals listed in the 2013/14 annual financial statement are not part of the University's Senior Management Team and therefore fell outwith the scope of your request. Whilst their emoluments are captured in the top level data published in our Financial Report, there is no expectation on their part that job title and salary band information would be made public.
I trust this information is useful.
Yours sincerely,
Durham Burt
Deputy Information and Data Protection Manager
Governance and Executive Support
Durham University
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