> My feeling is that as the forms/information are
> confidential and as it is University policy not to
> copy/return assessed forms to students (made clear to
> students) it could be argued that the Unviersity would not
> need to disclose the information to a student upon request.
It is my understanding that confidentiality, per se, is not a valid reason to
withhold information. It is only referred to in s7(6)(a) in relation to third
parties. In this example, if the assessor's contribution could be
successfully anonymised, I doubt that you would be able to justify non-
disclosure on that ground.
As to the question of relevant filing systems, the ODPR has said all along
that the legislation is unlikely to be construed as encouraging sloppy
information management as a means of circumventing the Act. If a piece
of information is readily retrievable and is filed by reference to an
individual, it will be caught. The following test was suggested at a recent
conference: if your boss strides into the room and demands a piece of
information about someone NOW, and you can put your hands on it in
time to save your job, then you are operating a relevant filing system!
Anne Kipling
Information Security Officer
Oxford Brookes University
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