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University of Glasgow

Partially Complete, Seeking Classification of Staff
-- Original Partial Response (17 Nov 2014): Glasgow1.pdf
-- Original Full Response (4 Dec 2014): Glasgow2a.pdf and Glasgow2b.pdf
-- Refusal to Name Staff (11 Dec 2014): Glasgow3.pdf

From: JJ Hermes
Sent: 20 October 2014 12:16
To: foi@gla.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
On Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 3:20 PM, FOI Office (foi@gla.ac.uk) wrote (REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 REQUEST - (FOI Reference 2014/285 - F0444013)):

Dear Mr Hermes,

Further to your Freedom of Information request, dated 20 October 2014 and timed 12:17 hours, please find a letter of acknowledgement attached.

You will find that the University's acknowledgement of your information request is in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer by clicking on to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 3742

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

-- Attachment: Glasgow0.pdf
On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 12:26 PM, FOI Office (foi@gla.ac.uk) wrote (RESPONSE to Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Request - (FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013)):

Dear Mr Hermes,

Please find attached the University's partial response to your Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 request dated 20 October 2014 timed 12:17 hours.

You will find that the University's response to your information request is in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer by clicking on to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 3742

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

-- Attachment: Glasgow1.pdf
On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 8:57 AM, JJ Hermes wrote (Re: RESPONSE to Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Request - (FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013)):

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for your partial 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, FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013. 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 response, you said that "The University is in the process of collating the response to [the third] question. We will contact you again when this process is complete."

I am inquiring about the state of this completed response. When can I expect the full response to my 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. 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
On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 4:30 PM, FOI Office (foi@gla.ac.uk) wrote (RESPONSE to Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Request - (FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013)):

Dear Mr Hermes,

Please find attached the University's final response to your Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 request dated 20 October 2014 timed 12:17 hours.

You will find that the University's response to your information request is in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer by clicking on to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 3742

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

-- Attachments: Glasgow2a.pdf and Glasgow2b.pdf
On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 3:17 PM, FOI Office (foi@gla.ac.uk) wrote (Re: RESPONSE to Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Request - (FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013)):

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for your positive response on 4 Dec 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 would ask for one additional point of clarification in your response:

Could you please replace the numbers in your response for each member of staff with their classification (a) academic staff, (b) clinical staff (academics with clinical responsibilities), or (c) senior management and/or non-teaching staff. Additionally, please identify by name and title all members of the University's senior administrative staff (e.g., pro-vice-chancellors, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, directors of institutes, etc.) in the response.

Supporting evidence for identifying the senior administrative staff by name comes from a First-Tier Tribunal has ruled in a very similar case that universities must disclose the names/titles and salaries of all members of the PSS (Professional Services staff; ie, the senior management team) making more than £100,000 in total emoluments. The Information Commissioner's Office found in case FS50513117 dated 17 Feb 2014 that King's College London must release the names/titles and salaries of *all* staff making more than £100,000 in total emoluments (http://ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/decisionnotices/2014/fs_50513117.pdf). However, the First-Tier Tribunal ruled on 2 Oct 2014 in Case No. EA/2014/0054, an appeal from King's College, that only the names and salaries of members of the PSS (Professional Services staff; ie, the senior management team) making more than £100,000 in total emoluments are subject to disclosure (http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i1390/Kings%20College%20London%20EA.2014.0054%20(30.09.14).pdf).

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
On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 11:26 AM, FOI Office (foi@gla.ac.uk) wrote (RESPONSE to Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Request - (FOI Ref: 2014/285 - F0444013)):

Dear Mr Hermes,

Please find attached the University's response to your request for clarification dated 9 December 2014 timed 15:17 hours.

You will find that the University's response to your information request is in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer by clicking on to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 3742

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

-- Attachments: Glasgow3.pdf