Publication Schemes

Under section 19 of the FOI Act, each public authority must produce a publication scheme. This has to set out what information it will make available as a matter of course, how and when it will do so, and whether or not this information will be made available free of charge. The authority must then release the information as promised in its scheme.

The scheme should make sure that a significant amount of information is readily available to the public. Publication schemes are also intended to develop a greater culture of openness within organisations. The Open University has adopted the model publcation scheme developed for the Higher Education sector and is therefore committed to publishing the information it describes.

Some basic facts about our scheme:

We provide our scheme in two formats: on the Open University's Subsidiary Companies website (from which a printable version is available - see below) and on paper.

The scheme lists four groups of classes of information. In all cases, the class is defined as the most specific level of entry. The groups of classes are arranged in a way to make it easier to find information. They have been divided into four broad categories:

1. Legal Framework
2. Finance
3. Minutes of Board Meetings
4. Directors

By 'publication' we mean information available on our website, one-off printed documents from a desktop computer, electronic documents and reports.

How we make information available, and what charges may apply:

Website: when information is available on the OU or another website the web address will be given and a link provided. Note that when the link is to another organisation's website, provision of the information is the responsibility of that organisation and not of the OU;

By post: information will be posted on request, following receipt of any fee applicable.

Requests for the provision of information contained in this scheme (other than via the university's website) should be sent to the Freedom of Information Manager at:

PO Box 497
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

or email Freedom-of-Information@open.ac.uk

We aim to despatch the information within 20 working days from receipt of your request and the fee. We do not provide printouts of other people's websites.

Printable version of publication scheme

• OU Subsidiary Companies - 95 kb (Word format)
• OU Subsidiary Companies - 93 kb (pdf format)

OU LIBRARY

Some information is made available in the Open University Library at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes.

Opening Hours

The library building at Walton Hall Campus is open during normal public opening hours.

The library is closed for Bank Holidays and for the University closure period at Christmas. At certain times of the year the library will open at 10am on Friday mornings to allow for staff training.

Library Contact Details

Access to personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998

The Data Protection Act 1998 provides living individuals with a right of access to personal information held about them. The right applies to all Open University information held in computerised form and also to non-computerised information held in filing systems structured so that specific information about particular individuals can be retrieved readily. The right extends also to those archives that meet these criteria. However, the right is subject to exemptions which will affect whether information is provided and requests will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Please send requests for access to information under the Data Protection Act (‘data subject access requests’) to the Data Protection Co-ordinator at:

PO Box 497
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

or email data-protection@open.ac.uk

Please provide as much detail as possible to help us find the information.

Note that the Data Protection Act does not give third parties rights of access to personal information for research purposes.