SOAS welcomes comments, suggestions and questions relating to our implementation of Information Commissioner's Model Publication Scheme for the public sector. These should be sent to the Information Compliance Manager (ICM) at the following address:

Information Compliance Manager
SOAS University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Street Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7898 4187
Email: freedomofinformation@soas.ac.uk

If you have a complaint about the Guide which SOAS has produced to the information which we publish under the Model Publication Scheme, or our handling of a request for published material, you are encouraged to contact the ICM in the first instance to determine if the ICM can resolve your concerns informally. This may lead to a quicker resolution of the issues than a formal complaint. However, you may submit a formal complaint instead of contacting the ICM (see below).

If you remain dissatisfied after contacting the ICM, you can submit a formal complaint under SOAS's Freedom of Information, Environmental Information and Data Protection Appeal Procedures . Your complaint should be sent in writing to the Director Legal and Governance at the address below. It should state as fully as possible why you think SOAS's implementation of the Model Publication Scheme, or SOAS's handling of a request by you for information published under the Publication Scheme, was not dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, and the remedy which you are seeking from the School. If your complaint relates to a request for material covered by the Publication Scheme, you should submit your complaint within 12 months of SOAS's response to your request:

Director Legal and Governance
SOAS University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

Fax: +44 (0)20 7074 5019
Email: dr16@soas.ac.uk

The Director Legal and Governance will assign your complaint to a review committee, and will acknowledge receipt of your complaint. The chair of the review committee will respond to your complaint within 40 working days of its receipt by the Director Legal and Governance. If the review committee decides that information should be released to you, the information will be provided to you as soon as is practically possible. For further information about the appeal process, see SOAS's Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Appeal Procedures

If you are dissatisfied with SOAS's response to your complaint, you can ask the Information Commissioner to determine whether SOAS is complying with its legal duties in regard to publication schemes under the Freedom of Information Act. The Commissioner has discretionary powers to enforce the adoption of a publication scheme, or the disclosure of information which falls within the classes of a publication scheme if they aer satisfied that a public authority is not complying with its duties under the Act. The Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
United Kingdom

Further information about your right to complain to the Information Commissioner is available on the Commissioner's website .

Last updated: April 2020