52-499: JISC may refer to: Jisc , formerly known as Joint Information Systems Committee, the UK body concerned with information and communications technology in education Japanese Industrial Standards Committee Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title JISC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
104-635: A Joint Committee to deal with networking and specialist information services. JISC was to provide national vision and leadership for the benefit of the entire Higher Education sector. The organisation inherited the functions of the Information Systems Committee (ISC) and the Computer Board, both of which had served universities. An initial challenge was to support a much larger community of institutions, including ex-polytechnics and higher education colleges . The new committee
156-470: A dialogue with the requester to better determine the information they want, and the format they want it in - in itself, a change in the way UK authorities interact with the public. Requests can be refused if they cost more than £600, including time spent searching for files. The UK Government established the Access to Information Central Clearing House in order to ensure consistency across Central Government in
208-655: A manifesto commitment of the Labour Party in the 1997 general election , developed by David Clark as a 1997 White Paper. The final version of the Act was criticised by freedom of information campaigners as a diluted form of what had been proposed in the White Paper. The full provisions of the act came into force on 1 January 2005. The Act was the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department (now renamed
260-557: A national consortium for the UK academic community. The National Academic Mailing List Service, known as JiscMail , was, as of 2017 , the UK's biggest educational and research email discussion list community. JiscMail is part of Jisc. JiscMail hosts over 9000 educational and research email mailing lists and in 2015 had over 1,500,000 unique subscribers. JiscMail uses LISTSERV mailing list software. JiscMail helps groups of individuals to communicate and discuss education/research interests using email discussion lists. JiscMail Helpline are
312-454: A package of services that the LSC would continue to contribute towards in the future. Also in 2005, a number of strategies and policies for UK Higher and Further Education were published, reaffirming the importance of ICT: JISC was seen as taking an important role in supporting and implementing these strategies. In the same year, JISC signed agreements with several international partners: Under
364-429: A public authority has two corresponding duties. First, a duty to inform a member of the public whether or not it holds the information requested (s1(1)(a)), and second, if it does hold that information, to communicate it to the person making that request (s1(1)(b)). As the corollary to this, the Act thus grants the equivalent rights to a confirmation or denial and communication of relevant information to an individual making
416-706: A qualified exemption, it must be subject to a public interest test. Thus, a decision on the application of a qualified exemption operates in two stages. First, a public authority must determine whether or not the information is covered by an exemption and then, even if it is covered, the authority must disclose the information unless the application of a public interest test indicated that the public interest favours non-disclosure. Qualified exemptions can be subdivided into two further categories: class-based exemptions covering information in particular classes, and harm-based exemptions covering situations where disclosure of information would be liable to cause harm. Under these exemptions
468-421: A request under the act. The basic duty is supplemented by an additional duty to aid individuals in making requests and ensuring that they frame their FOI requests appropriately. (s.16(1)) However, there are numerous exemptions. Some of these are absolute bars to disclosure; some are qualified, which means the public authority has to decide whether the public interest in disclosing the relevant information outweighs
520-601: A service whose provision is a function of a public authority. The first order under section 5 (in November 2011) extended the list of public authorities to also include the Association of Chief Police Officers , the Financial Ombudsman Service and UCAS . The act creates a general right of access, on request, to information held by public authorities. On receipt of a freedom of information claim
572-466: A subscription for services. In 2019 Jisc merged with Eduserv , another charity promoting IT in the public sector and in charities. The combined entity continues to be named Jisc, and is based at Eduserv's Bristol headquarters. In 2020 Jisc merged with HECSU , a careers information and advice service. In 2022 Jisc merged with HESA , the agency responsible for collection, analysis and dissemination of quantitative information about higher education in
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#1732783173448624-410: A weapon." Labour peer Lord Falconer has criticised the use of the act by journalists for "fishing expeditions" into salacious stories, arguing that "FoI is not for press[,] it is for the people. It needs to be properly used in order to promote good Government. Information needs to be handled responsibly, and I strongly believe that there is a duty of responsibility on behalf of the media as well." In
676-581: Is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level. Its application is limited in Scotland (which has its own freedom of information legislation) to UK Government offices located in Scotland. The Act implements
728-868: Is in existence in the UK, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 13). It was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2002, to cover public bodies over which the Holyrood parliament, rather than Westminster, has jurisdiction. For these institutions, it fulfils the same purpose as the 2000 Act. Around 120,000 requests were made in the first year that the Act was in force. Private citizens made 60% of them, with businesses and journalists accounting for 20% and 10% respectively. However, requests from journalists tended to be more complex, and, consequently, more expensive. They accounted for around 10% of initial FoI requests made to central government, but 20% of
780-465: Is necessary to refocus activities around clearer priorities, and to ensure JISC operates with a sustainable financial model". In 2012 JISC became an independent not-for-profit charity funded mainly by the government and universities. At this point it renamed itself Jisc . A cut in funding by the Department for Education in 2018 meant that Jisc had to start charging further education colleges
832-553: Is no comparable body to JISC within the UK, and internationally its reputation is outstanding as a strategic leader and partner. The Review concluded that "JISC is an invaluable national resource which has evolved in response to increasing demands over 20 years". However, the Review also recommended that, due to the breadth and complexity of JISC's activity, its structure, processes, projects, programmes and governance need to be simplified and reshaped: "[i]n an era of financial constraint, it
884-569: The BBC is subject to the act only for information which is not held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, to prevent its journalistic activities from possible compromise. The scope of this provision was considered in the 2007 High Court decision of BBC v Sugar , an internal BBC document examining the BBC coverage of the Middle East for potential bias. The appellants in that case argued that
936-507: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into full effect, giving the public a general right to access all types of recorded information held by public bodies. JISC took an important lead in raising the Act's profile in the academic community and published its own FOI Publication Scheme. In the spring of 2005, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) announced a reduction in its funding contribution to JISC. The LSC and JISC Executive negotiated
988-614: The In From The Cold: An assessment of the scope of "Orphan Works" and its impact on the delivery of services to the public . JISC stated this project had four goals: A review of JISC's work, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England under the chairmanship of Sir Alan Wilson , was published in February 2011. One of the principal findings of the review was that there
1040-830: The Ministry of Justice ). However, freedom of information policy is now the responsibility of the Cabinet Office . The Act led to the renaming of the Data Protection Commissioner (set up to administer the Data Protection Act 1998 ), who is now known as the Information Commissioner . The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the operation of the Act. A second freedom of information law
1092-472: The UK Public Records Act of 1958 . This act gave the public a general right to access all types of recorded information held by public authorities, much greater than was previously allowed. The FOIA was mainly concerned with the management and preservation of public records. The FOIA reduced the 30-year rule to a 20-year rule, meaning records would be made public earlier. This gave the public
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#17327831734481144-415: The BBC has no obligation to disclose information which they hold to any significant extent for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, whether or not the information is also held for other purposes. The words do not mean that the information is disclosable if it is held for purposes distinct from journalism, art or literature, whilst it is also held to any significant extent for those listed purposes. If
1196-597: The Bill might make it appear as though "Parliament has something to hide". However, this failed to pass the first reading in the House of Lords. Further to this, Lord Falconer made comments suggesting that time spent deciding whether or not information fell under an exemption clause should be included in the £600 cost limit. Consultation was carried out, with the government saying the change would cut costs and discourage requests for trivial information, although critics said that it
1248-603: The Government Spending Review 2004, JISC was awarded additional funding of £81 million for the period April 2006 to March 2009, and was able to launch a range of new programmes to support the work of the higher education and research community. Funding for SuperJANET5 was provided by all of its funding partners. Other activities were funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales. In 2009 JISC published
1300-515: The United Kingdom. In September 2022, Jisc agreed to a closer working relationship with UCISA . In August 2024, Jisc announced that it would cease all activity on each of its X accounts. Jisc explained that the move was taken due to "recent events that are incompatible with our values as an organisation". Jisc announced that it would keep its profiles on X to prevent any misuse of its identity but would not post any new content after 21 August 2024. Services offered by Jisc include: Jisc acts as
1352-452: The ability to access more recent records without sacrificing national security or personal privacy. A significant part of the FOIA was the establishment of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This office oversees the upholding of information rights in the public interest, as well as making sure the FOIA is adhered to properly. If you think a public body is intentionally not giving you
1404-460: The act must be continually updated. Schedule 4 of the Act empowers the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs to add a body or officeholder to Schedule 1 as a public authority if they are created statute or prerogative; and its members are appointed by the government. It is important to note that for some public authorities listed under Schedule 1, the act has limited effect. For example,
1456-661: The act: Public Authorities, publicly owned companies and designated bodies performing public functions. In principle, the freedom of information act applies to all "public authorities" within the United Kingdom. A full list of "public authorities" for the purposes of the act is included in Schedule 1. Government departments, the Houses of Parliament , the Northern Ireland Assembly , the Welsh Assembly ,
1508-557: The act; this includes legal entities such as companies. There is no special format for a request. Applicants do not need to mention the Act when making a request. Applicants do not have to give a reason for their request. Although the Act covers a wide range of government information, the act contains a variety of provisions that provide for the exemption from disclosure of certain types of information. The act contains two forms of exemption: "absolute" exemptions that are not subject to any public interest assessment, they act as absolute bars to
1560-596: The armed forces, local government bodies, National Health Service bodies, schools, colleges and universities, police authorities and Chief Officers of Police are included within this list, which ranges from the Farm Animal Welfare Council to the Youth Council for Northern Ireland. A few government departments are expressly excluded from the scope of the act, principally intelligence services . As government departments are created or closed,
1612-586: The article Freedom of Information: A sheep in wolf's clothing? Rodney Austin offers the following criticisms of the substance of the Act: The legislation has also been criticised for "loopholes" that allow authorities to avoid disclosing information in certain situations. Companies owned by one public authority are generally subject to the Act but companies owned by two or more public authorities are not covered. Facts that have been brought to light by this Act include: The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill
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1664-465: The costs of officials' time in dealing with the requests. The Act cost £35.5 million in 2005. The act implements what was a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party in the 1997 general election . Before its introduction, there had been no right of access to government by the general public, merely a limited voluntary framework for sharing information. The act was preceded by a 1998 white paper , Your Right to Know , by David Clark . The White paper
1716-528: The disclosure of information; and "qualified" exemptions where a public interest test must be made, balancing the public interest in maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosing the information. The original Freedom of Information White Paper proposed 15 such exemptions, but the final Bill included 24, and not all of the initial 15 were included. Exemptions designated "absolute exemptions" have no public interest test attached. The act contains eight such exemptions: If information falls within
1768-400: The document had been produced for both operational and journalistic reasons, and so should not be covered by the partial exemption provided in the act. The High Court rejected this argument; Mr Justice Irwin considered that the meaning of journalism within the act meant that any information held for such purposes was covered by the exemption: My conclusion is that the words in the Schedule mean
1820-416: The exemption applies (subject to the public interest test) if complying with the duty under s.1 would, or would be likely to: A public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious (s14(1)). A request is considered vexatious if it is 'obsessive or manifestly unreasonable', harasses the authority or causes distress to its staff, imposes a significant burden, or if
1872-562: The funding bodies. A new structure was therefore put in place from December 2001, consisting of a JISC Board, advised by a steering committee made up of senior officers from each funding body. Six sub-committees fell under two main heads: strategy and policy committees, which aimed to ensure that the needs of specific communities were met (in the fields of research, learning and teaching, and management); and functional committees, concentrating on specific areas of work (networking, information environment, and content acquisition). In January 2005,
1924-466: The information is held for mixed purposes, including to any significant extent the purposes listed in the Schedule or one of them, then the information is not disclosable. A 4:1 majority (Lord Wilson dissenting) of the Supreme Court upheld this decision, stating that the disclosure of any information held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature was to be excluded - even if the information
1976-579: The information you've asked for, the ICO is the agency to contact. They are essentially the centralized management agency for all things public records. While there was still a waiting period for the public to access records, the FOIA also established a system of real time reporting of records to the National Archives which could be accessed by all UK government agencies. This is also when public records began to become digitised which also meant that
2028-540: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=JISC&oldid=591477489 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Jisc Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as
2080-413: The prime minister responsible for passing the Act regards it as "One of the biggest mistakes of his career". Blair says that "For political leaders, it's like saying to someone who is hitting you over the head with a stick, 'Hey, try this instead', and handing them a mallet. The information is neither sought because the journalist is curious to know, nor given to bestow knowledge on 'the people'. It's used as
2132-587: The public interest in maintaining the exemption. An applicant for information who considers that a request has been wrongly rejected may apply to the Information Commissioner, who has the power to order disclosure. However, such orders can be appealed to a specialist tribunal (the Information Tribunal ) and in some circumstances, the Government has the power to override orders of the Information Commissioner. Any person can request information under
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2184-776: The public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with offices in London , Manchester , and Oxford . Its current CEO is Heidi Fraser-Krauss , who joined in September 2021 from the University of Sheffield . The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) was established on 1 April 1993 under the terms of letters of guidance from the Secretaries of State to the newly established Higher Education Funding Councils for England , Scotland and Wales , inviting them to establish
2236-434: The request lacks any serious value. The Act affects over 100,000 public bodies including government departments, schools and councils. The Act came into force in phases, with the final "general right of access" to public information under the Act coming into force on 1 January 2005. As well as the "general right of access", the Act places a duty on public authorities to adopt and maintain pro-active "publication schemes" for
2288-410: The routine release of important information (such as annual reports and accounts). These publication schemes must be approved by the Information Commissioner. In general, public authorities have 20 working days to respond to an information request, though this deadline can be extended in certain cases and/or with the agreement of the requester. Under the Act, public authorities are encouraged to enter into
2340-516: The team who provide information, advice, support and help to users of the service, from setting up new lists, to helping customers find lists, join lists, update their details. JiscMail became the National Mailing List Service as the successor to a previous service, Mailbase, in November 2000. Services previously offered by Jisc include: Freedom of Information Act 2000 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36)
2392-418: The time frame for accessing records was immediate or real-time. This is an ongoing process that started with the advent of the digital age of the 21st century and is today a common practice for all UK public records. The Freedom of Information Act creates a statutory right for access to information in relation to bodies that exercise functions of a public nature. Three different kinds of bodies are covered under
2444-498: The way requests are handled. Three aspects of the UK's Freedom of Information Act differ from the position in many other countries: At the time of the passing of the Act, advocates of freedom of information legislation were critical of the bill for its complexity, limited scope and the inclusion of a ministerial veto. Lord Mackay criticised the bill in the House of Lords as "toothless" for its inclusion of provisions allowing ministers to veto applications. By contrast, Tony Blair ,
2496-531: Was a private member's bill introduced to the British House of Commons in 2007 which failed to become law. Conservative MP David Maclean introduced the bill to ensure that MPs' correspondence was exempt from freedom of information laws. The then leader of the Liberal Democrats , Sir Menzies Campbell , said there should not "be one law for MPs and a different law for everyone else" and that
2548-444: Was appointed to carry out an independent enquiry. His report, published in November 2000, concluded that "JISC is perceived as a UK success story, providing a network of world-class standard and a range of excellent services. Importantly, it evolves continuously and is an excellent example of collaboration between the community and the funding bodies". However, Follett made various recommendations for reform, most of which were accepted by
2600-641: Was initially supported by four sub-committees, covering Networking; Awareness, Liaison and Training; Electronic Information; and Technology Applications. In 1995, the Northern Ireland Department of Education became a full partner in JISC. The organisation expanded again in 1999 when the further education funding bodies became funding partners. This expansion prompted a restructuring and a new set of committees: The expansion also raised wider concerns about JISC's governance, and Sir Brian Follett
2652-571: Was met with widespread enthusiasm, and was described at the time as being "almost too good to be true" by one advocate of freedom of information legislation. The final act was substantially more limited in scope than the initial white paper. A draft Bill was published in May 1999; the Bill was extensively debated in the House of Commons and the House of Lords , and received royal assent in November 2000. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) modernised
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#17327831734482704-495: Was predominantly held for other purposes. Companies that fall within the definition of a publicly owned company under s6 of the Act automatically fall within its grasp. S6 provides that a company is publicly owned if: Under Section 5 of the Act, the Secretary of State may designate further bodies as public authorities under the Act, provided that those bodies are exercising a function of a public nature or contracting to provide
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