The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the ‘Act’) gives a general right of access to recorded information held by public bodies such as Cambridge Assessment International Education.
General enquiries
For general enquiries about Cambridge and our products, please contact us.
Publication scheme
The Act imposes a duty on public bodies to adopt a publication scheme detailing information which is held and is publicly available. Public bodies must also create and maintain a guide to their publication scheme.
Cambridge is part of the publishing and assessment business of the University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Information Commissioner’s Office. A Guide to Information has been produced by the University of Cambridge in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office Definition Document for Universities. As a part of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge is covered by the University’s Publication Scheme Guide to Information.
Individual requests for information
The Act also imposes a duty on public bodies to manage individual requests for information.
Any person who wishes to request information from Cambridge must do so in writing. Your request should be directed to the Freedom of Information Team: foi@cambridge.org.
Subject to a number of conditions and exemptions, Cambridge must respond to a request made under the Act within 20 working days of receipt.
To be a valid Freedom of Information request, the request must be in writing for specific information, which is not subject to an exception contained within the Act, and relates to information which Cambridge holds. A written request includes requests by email.
Upon receipt of a valid request duties are:
- to confirm whether or not Cambridge holds the information;
- to confirm whether there will be any cost involved in supplying the information;
- to provide the information or explain why the information cannot be provided; and
- where appropriate and possible, to advise and assist applicants (e.g. to clarify what a requestor is asking, and in some instances, to explain the possible options).
We may charge an applicant for the supply of information. There is no obligation to supply information if the cost of such would exceed the limit of £450 imposed by Regulation 3 of The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Complaints
A formal complaint can be raised if:
- you are unhappy with the way that an access request has been handled, or
- you are unhappy with the outcome of the consideration of the request.
Complaints should be directed for the attention of the General Counsel and must be submitted to:
- by email
- by post: FOI Team, Legal and Business Affairs, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA.
We will respond to complaints within 20 working days, or provide you with regular updates on the progress of a complaint where there is a reason for it to take longer.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Complainants have the right to complain directly to the ICO if they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the procedure.
More information about the Act or the ICO can be found on the ICO website.