Helen Linsley

University of Cumbria
Bowerham Road
Lancaster
LA1 3JD
Tel: 01524 384754
Fax: 01524 384582
helen.linsley@cumbria.ac.uk

19th May, 2010

Ian Benson
10 County House Mews
Monkgate
York
YO31 7NR

By e-mail to ian.benson22@btinternet.com

Dear Mr. Benson,

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Thank you for your request for information about Terrorism Legislation, received by
the University on 26th April. Please see below the response to your questions.

Q1 Does your institution provide any information or advice to students or staff on any
potential liability under Terrorism legislation which might result from accessing
materials for teaching or research ?

We do not provide advice and guidance specifically on Terrorism legislation. There

are some general provisions in the University’s Information Security Policy, available
on the website here: http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Services/ICTS/A-Z.aspx#I

The following in particular may be relevant:-

Para 3.2 (and also 17.4 re students) outlines the Internet Acceptable Use Policy and
addresses what is allowed
Para 5.1 draws attention to general staff responsibilities
Para 15 refers to the Emergency Response Procedure
Para 18 outlines internal sanctions including notification of an illegal activity to
appropriate authorities
Para 19.2 describes legal requirements.
Q2 Does your institution have any kind of procedure to review or assess reading lists,
module descriptors or other teaching materials which explicitly or in practice
considers questions of safety and risk under terrorism legislation as part of its remit ?

We do not explicitly include safety and risk under terrorism legislation as part of our
programme development, approval or monitoring procedures. However, it is very
likely that such issues will be raised by individuals as part of these processes,
particularly for particular programmes such as Policing, Law and Criminology.

Q3 Does your institution have any system, policy or procedure in place for dealing
with any potential actions taken by the authorities against the institution, its students
or staff under Terrorism legislation ?

The University does not have a specific policy or procedure in place for dealing with
these situations. Depending on the circumstances, the most relevant policies are
likely to be the Disciplinary Policy (for staff) and Student Code of Conduct. There are
available on the website here:-

Disciplinary Policy:
http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Services/HumanResources/Human%20Resources%20Han
dbook.aspx

Student Code of Conduct:

http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Services/LISS/documents/Studentprocedures/StudentProc
edures.aspx

Q4 Does your institution have any system, policy or procedure in place for
‘preventing violent extremism’ as recommended for example in the government
guidance document ‘Promoting Good Campus Relations’?

The document ‘Promoting Good Campus Relations’ was used to develop the latest
version of the University’s Freedom of Speech Code of Practice. This is available on
the website here:
http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Services/AdminServices/Secretariat/FreedomofSpeechCod
eofPractice.aspx

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you can ask for it to
be reviewed under the University’s Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure.
To request a review, please contact the Secretariat Officer (Records Management) at
the above address or by e-mail at foia@cumbria.ac.uk. Further information is
enclosed with this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Linsley

Helen Linsley
Secretariat Officer (Records Management)