University of Cambridge

The complainant submitted a request to the University of Cambridge (the university) for a copy of the document titled ‘PhD under Special Regulations’ and information in relation to it.
The university withheld some information under section 40(2) (third-party personal data) with reliance on section 40(3)(a) of FOIA.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the university was correct to apply section 40(2), with reliance on section 40(3)(a) of FOIA, to the withheld information. However, he finds that the university failed to adequately ascertain whether or not it holds any further information falling within scope of the request. Furthermore, in treating some of the complainant’s correspondence as a second request, the university breached sections 1(1) and 10(1) of FOIA.
The Commissioner requires the university to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
•    Disclose a copy of the rules which were adopted in August 2022 after the meeting of the Post Graduate Committee.
•    Conduct further searches aimed at identifying whether information is held, in relation to bullet points two to four at paragraph 17 of this notice and issue the complainant with a fresh response which meets the requirements of FOIA.
The university must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.