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Closed Do not exempt universities from Freedom of Information requests

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The Higher Education Green Paper contains a proposal to make universities exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, on page 68. This is incredibly dangerous for maintaining transparency and for student media who rely on FOI requests to hold universities and other HEIs to account.

The Russell Group which represents 24 universities, have publicly supported this proposal: “The additional responsibilities created by FOI represent an unnecessary burden. Furthermore, changes in funding of higher education and the emergence of a private sector of higher education provision mean that continued application of the Freedom of Information Act to universities is unfair.”

It is also corroborated by Universities UK, which represents 132 vice-chancellors and principals.

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    This petition will stay open until 19 August 2016.