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University of Oxford

Mostly Complete, Original Response Refusal, Updated Response Mostly There
-- Original Response (17 Nov 2014): Oxford1.pdf (Oxford1.xlsx)
-- Updated Response (19 Jan 2015): Oxford2.pdf (Oxford2.xlsx)

From: JJ Hermes
Sent: 20 October 2014 12:20
To: foi@admin.ox.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 4:46 PM, UAS Foi (foi@admin.ox.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):

Dear Mr Hermes,

Thank you for your request.

We shall reply no later than the statutory deadline of 17 November.

Yours sincerely

Max Todd
Assistant Registrar (Compliance)
Council Secretariat
(2)80299
On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 4:34 PM, UAS Foi (foi@admin.ox.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):

Please see attached.

Max Todd
Assistant Registrar (Compliance)
council Secretariat
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
01865 (2)80299

-- Attachment: Oxford1.pdf (Oxford1.xlsx)
On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 9:05 AM, JJ Hermes wrote (RE: FOI request):

Dear Max,

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 17 Nov 2014 response that the University reserves the right to withhold public disclosure of individual staff and their salaries, which was part (1) of this request. However, the University has completely ignored part (3) of my original request, providing only information for 2013/14 that would be readily accessible in the University's Annual Report and Accounts, a public document. Additionally, I would accept categorizing staff with your suggested breakdown (Academic & Research and Other Staff broken into Clinical and Non-Clinical) to complete part (2) of my original request.

Thus, I request the University respond to this original request in full:

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 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., staff in the Vice-Chancellor's Office such as pro-vice-chancellors, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, directors of institutes, etc.).

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, 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 Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 8:46 AM, UAS Foi (foi@admin.ox.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):

Dear Mr Hermes,

I apologise for the delay in sending this acknowledgement but I was on leave last week.

We shall treat your email as a clarification of your original request rather than as a request for an internal review of our previous response.

We aim to send you a substantive response no later than the statutory deadline of 5 January 2015.

Yours sincerely

Max Todd
Assistant Registrar (Compliance)
council Secretariat
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
01865 (2)80299
On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 5:22 PM, UAS Foi (foi@admin.ox.ac.uk) wrote (RE: FOI request):

Please see attached.

Max Todd
Assistant Registrar (Compliance)
council Secretariat
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
01865 (2)80299

-- Attachment: Oxford2.pdf (Oxford2.xlsx)