The University Council, University College London

The complainant has requested information regarding the number of Russian nationals that were applicants and those that were offered a place on the mathematical computation course in the academic year 2020/21 at University College London (UCL) and other related matters. UCL disclosed some information but withheld the exact number of Russian applicants/offerees for the course, restricting its response to “five or less”. UCL considered that providing the exact number would disclose personal information and breach section 40(2) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that UCL has incorrectly cited section 40(2) as she considers that the withheld information is not personal data. UCL has also breached section 10(1) of the FOIA in failing to respond to the request within the statutory timeframe. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.