Freedom of Information Act 2000 Publication Scheme

ALL SOULS COLLEGE

The following publication scheme is for All Souls College of the University of Oxford.

It seeks to meet the requirements of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Guidance for Higher Education Institutions (September 2013 version). It sets out what information the College publishes or intends to publish, how the information can be accessed and the associated charges where applicable.  

The Information Officer is responsible for maintaining the scheme on behalf of the College.

The purpose of the scheme is to give a clear indication of which College publications are routinely accessible, so that the public can be informed as far as reasonably possible of the purpose and nature of College activities, and to assist in developing a greater culture of openness in general.

Through the scheme, the College endeavours to be as transparent as possible about its activities, while at the same time recognising that there are exemptions within the Act.

All material associated with the definitions in the classes contained in the scheme are available in hard copy, electronically or via the College website.

The College hopes this Publication Scheme is helpful. Any questions, comments, or complaints about this scheme or further inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act should be sent in writing to:

Information Officer: Mr Steve Evans, Domestic Bursar
College: All Souls College
Address: High Street, Oxford, OX1 4AL
Email: foi@all-souls.ox.ac.uk

The College reserves the right to make a charge for printed copies of some documents available on the website to cover administrative and reproduction costs. The College also reserves the right to apply its usual Library charges for the reproduction or preparation of digital copies of documents not covered by this publication scheme. Digital images will be costed on the basis of the condition and nature of the item to be photographed, and on the number of images required.

Information which falls into the following categories is not published as part of the scheme:

  • the College does not hold the information;
  • the information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
  • the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible;
  • it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.

1. Who we are and what we do

The College, which is a registered charity, is primarily an academic research institution with particular strengths in the Humanities, Law, and the Social and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It also has strong ties to public life.  

Organisational information, locations, and contacts, constitutional and legal governance.

The College was established by Royal Charter and is governed in accordance with Statutes approved by the Privy Council and By-Laws approved by the Governing Body, copies of which may be obtained from the Information Officer. 

The College Annual Report and Financial Statements and website provide further details of the organisation and management of the College. It is a self-governing and financially independent body within the University of Oxford.  It is a member of the University Conference of Colleges and participates as appropriate in University Committees and consultations.

It is located in Oxford and has two wholly owned non-charitable subsidiaries, the Chichele Property Company (ASC) Limited and Animarum Properties Limited.

2. What we spend and how we spend it

For financial information relating to the College, its assets and liabilities, see the: College Annual Reports and Financial Statements which include information on the College’s income sources and funding, the auditor’s report and, when applicable, refer to major capital projects that are planned or completed. 

Procurement and contracts: The College is almost entirely self-funded and does not receive student fees; as substantially less than 50% of its income comes from public funding it is not subject to Public Procurement Regulations. 

Fellows’ Stipends includes details of the Fellows’ salary scales. The actual payments, including pension payments and other taxable benefits, to all Fellows are included in the Annual Report and Financial Statements which also cover other staff costs. 

College Contributions and Research Funding: The College financial contributions to the University under Statute XV is detailed in the College Annual Reports and Financial Statements which also include details of the research funding received from HEFCE.  

3. What our priorities are and how we are doing

Collegiate Plan:  See Introduction to Annual Reports and Financial Statements which also sets out the roles and responsibilities of committees and College officers.

4. How we make decisions

Decision making processes and records of decisions: See Organisation of the College.

Policy proposals and decisions: Major policy proposals and decisions are recorded in the College’s Stated General Meeting Reports.

5. Our policies and procedures

Policies and Procedures for conducting College business are set out in the College Statutes and By-Laws. The College is a registered charity and seeks to operate in accordance with Charity Commission Guidance and other legislation. It has adopted a Policy and Procedure for Handling Conflicts of Interest and an Anti-Bribery Policy

Procedures and Policies relating to student services: The College only admits Fellows although some Examination Fellows (see Examination Fellows General Information for outline details of application arrangements) may also be enrolled for higher degrees. There are no undergraduates.

Policies and procedures relating to human resources:   

Recruitment: General College policies and procedures relating to recruitment are set out on the Appointments pages of the website where all major Fellowship competitions and most staff appointments are advertised

Pay policy: Fellows’ pay is determined by the Remuneration Committee and normally linked to main University pay scales which are reviewed annually. The overall level of pay awards to other staff, also reviewed annually, are approved by the Domestic and Estates and Finance Committees respectively. 

Code of Conduct for members of governing bodies. The College Statutes and By-Laws (obtainable from the Information Officer) set out the principal duties of Fellows, the arrangements for the conduct of College business, and the code of conduct, as well as Fellows’ entitlement to allowances and procedures for handling grievances and disputes.  The College has adopted a Policy for Handling Conflicts of Interest.

The College has adopted an Employer Justified Retirement Age for the Warden and Fellows. This is not applicable to staff. 

The Employee Handbook includes details of main employment policies (including harassment, disciplinary, grievance procedures, anti-bribery) that are applicable to staff.   

Equality and diversity:  See the College’s Equal Opportunities Policy, Equality Monitoring Report.  See also Visiting the College for information and advice for disabled visitors.  

Health and Safety: See Health and Safety Policy StatementCopies of the College Health and Safety Policy Procedures may be obtained from the Manciple.

Estate management:  The College Estates and Finance Committee oversees the management of the College estates and commercial property by its investment property managers. The Domestic Committee oversees the management and maintenance of the properties and buildings used for College purposes. 

Records management and personal data policies: See the College’s Data Protection Policy which also includes details of the College policy on the retention of records.

Information security policy: Contact the College Information Officer.

Research policy and strategy: Fellows pursue their individual research programmes as agreed by the College and report as required to the College’s Academic Purposes Committee. 

Publicly funded research outputs and data: The University pays the salary and funds most of the research undertaken by University Academic Fellows but the College funds most of the research undertaken by its Senior Research, Post-Doctoral Research, and Examination Fellows, as well as supporting the research work undertaken by other Fellows. The details of individual Fellows’ published research is available through their personal pages on the College website. 

6. Lists and registers

Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority: Copies of relevant lists and registers (with permitted redactions) may be obtained from the Information Officer. 

7. The services we offer

Information for visitors: See Visiting the College.

Lectures and seminars supported by the College are advertised on the College website which also indicates which are open to the public.   

Library, archives: See The Library.

Chapel: Chapel services are open to visitors; see Chapel for details.

Responsibility for the scheme:

The Information Officer of the College has overall responsibility for the publication scheme.

The person responsible for maintaining and managing the scheme is:

Information Officer: Mr Steve Evans, Domestic Bursar
College: All Souls College
Address: High Street, Oxford, OX1 4AL
Email:  foi@all-souls.ox.ac.uk

Other formats:

If you would like this scheme, or any of the information it covers, in a more accessible format, please contact the Information Officer to discuss additional ways in which the information may be made available to you.

Copyright

The copyright in this publication scheme and documents or other material published as part of this publication Scheme is reserved to All Souls College.

Complaints

If you have any comments about this scheme or are not satisfied that information is being published in accordance with this scheme, you should contact the Information Officer in the first instance (address above). The College does not have a formal internal review procedure but if you are still dissatisfied please write to the Information Officer who will arrange, in consultation with the Warden for the matter to be reviewed internally.  

The Information Officer (Domestic Bursar)
Bursary,
All Souls College,
High Street,
Oxford, OX1 4AL

If, after the investigation of your complaint, you are still dissatisfied you may refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner

Information Commissioner,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Review of the publication scheme

This guide to the information available and the operation of the scheme was last reviewed in 2015 and will be reviewed every three years. Documents published in accordance with the Scheme are updated once they have been approved by the College.