King's College London
Incomplete, Original Response Total Refusal
-- Original Response (18 Nov 2014): KCL1.pdf
-- Internal Review Response (23 Dec 2014): KCL2.pdf
From: JJ Hermes
Sent: 20 October 2014 12:17
To: legal-compliance@kcl.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 2:35 PM, Crampton, Sarah (sarah.crampton@kcl.ac.uk) wrote (FoI Acknowledgment):
Dear Mr Hermes,
The College received your Freedom of Information request on 20 October 2014. We will respond to you as soon as possible within the statutory 20 working day time frame.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Sarah
Sarah Crampton
Governance and Legal Affairs Management
King's College London
Room 102
26-29 Drury Lane
London, WC2B 5RL
T: 020 7848 7816
E: legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk
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On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 3:34 PM, Cameron, Anne (anne.cameron@kcl.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):
Dear Mr Hermes,
The College is currently working on your Freedom of Information request and I need to clarify a point with you.
Can you define emoluments? Are you using the HEFCE definition that can be seen here http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2014/cl252014/name,87933,en.html
That being :".. emoluments received in the year (including taxable benefits in kind, but excluding compensation for loss of office and employer pension costs)... Payments funded from external sources, including the NHS, should be included in emoluments. Royalties or other payments that are outside the affairs of the HEI do not count as emoluments for this purpose."
Your request will be put on hold until we receive a response.
Kind regards
Anne Cameron
Legal Compliance Manager
King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 7942
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On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 4:10 PM, JJ Hermes wrote (RE: FOI request):
Hi Anne,
Please define emoluments using the HEFCE definition for this request. Thank you for clarifying the point.
Sincerely,
JJ Hermes
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On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 6:35 PM, Cameron, Anne (anne.cameron@kcl.ac.uk) wrote (Re FoIA request):
Dear Mr Hermes,
Please see the attached response to your recent FoIA request.
Kind regards
Anne Cameron
Legal Compliance Manager
King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 7942
-- Attachment: KCL1.pdf
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On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 9:00 AM, JJ Hermes wrote (Re: Re FoIA request):
To whom it may concern,
I write to respectfully dispute your 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.
I understand from your 18 Nov 2014 response that the University reserves the right to withhold public disclosure of individual staff and their salaries, which comprised part (1) of this request. However, the University has completely ignored part (3) of my original request. Thus, I request the University respond to this original request in full:
Please identify all 196 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 this 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. Please identify by name and title all members of the University's senior administrative team and management (e.g., Professional Services staff), as directed by the First-Tier Tribunal on 2 Oct 2014 in Case No. EA/2014/0054.
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 fulfillment 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.
Moreover, this University has been instructed by a First-Tier Tribunal that it 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). Thus, I expect King's College London will be fully forthcoming in its response to my request.
I appreciate your response in full to this request under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and 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
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On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 10:42 AM, kcl - legal-compliance (legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk) wrote (RE: Re FoIA request):
Dear JJ Hermes,
Thank you for your email.
We acknowledge receipt of your appeal today and will respond to you as soon as possible within the next 20 working days.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Sarah
Sarah Crampton
Governance and Legal Affairs Management
King's College London
Room 102
26-29 Drury Lane
London, WC2B 5RL
T: 020 7848 7816
E: legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk
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On Tue, Dec 23, 2014 at 8:51 AM, kcl - legal-compliance (legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk) wrote (Internal review):
Dear Mr Hermes,
Please find attached the College's response to your FoI Appeal.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Crampton
Governance and Legal Affairs Management
King's College London
Room 102
26-29 Drury Lane
London, WC2B 5RL
T: 020 7848 7816
E: legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk
-- Attachment: KCL2.pdf
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