Publication Scheme
There are six FE Colleges within Northern Ireland: Belfast Metropolitan College (Belfast Met), Northern Regional College (NRC), North West Regional College (NWRC), South Eastern Regional College (SERC), South West College (SWC) and Southern Regional College (SRC).
As Non-Departmental Public Bodies, the Colleges are subject to legislation regarding information governance such as the Freedom of Information 2000.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives everyone the Right to request information from public authorities, helping them to understand better how the College works, how we spend public money and how and why we make our decisions.
The Colleges encourage collaboration across the FE Sector where similar functions exist to embed a coordinated strategy towards best practice. The Sector has collaborated to develop a joint Publication Scheme and adopt agreed protocols regarding the release of information which is subject to FOIA.
| Definition document | Availability |
| Legal framework / Instrument of Government / Articles of Association | Please see the Governing Body section of the Public Documents webpage. |
| Roles and responsibilities | College Management Team |
| Organisational structure | College Management Team Structure |
| Information relating to the legislation relevant to the authority’s functions | The Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (legislation.gov.uk) Management Statement and Financial Memorandum between FE Colleges and DfE |
| Student activities | Belfast Met Student Union |
| Lists of and information relating to organisations with which the NDPB works in partnership | Corporate Documents held on the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Meetings of Chief Executive or Board members with Ministers and external organisations (including meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors, and senior executives) | Not held |
| Senior executives and management board members | College Management Team minutes available on request, freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Location and contact details of the NDPB | Belfast Met Contact Details |
| Definition document | Availability |
| Funding / income | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Financial statements, budgets, and variance reports | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Capital programme | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website For further information contact freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Spending Reviews | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Financial audit reports | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Senior staff and board members’ allowances and expenses | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Pay Policy | See ‘Pay and Grading Structures’ below |
| Pay and grading structures | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Procurement and tendering procedures | eTenders NI |
| Governors’ allowances | FE 07/17 Remuneration of Governing Body Chairs and Members Information on total payments can be requested by email to freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Register of Suppliers | E-TendersNI website Also available on request, freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Contracts | Available on request, freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Financial statements for projects and events | Belfast Met Annual Accounts held under the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents Page of the Website |
| Internal financial regulations | Available on request, freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Definition document | Availability |
| Major policy proposals and decisions | Home | Department for the Economy (economy-ni.gov.uk) |
| Background information relating to major policy proposals and decisions | Home | Department for the Economy (economy-ni.gov.uk) |
| Public consultations | Available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Minutes of senior level meetings | Governing Body section of the Public Documents page of the College website |
| Reports and papers provided for consideration at senior level meetings | Available on request, freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Minutes, agendas and papers from governing body, council, academic boards, steering groups, and committees. | Governing Body minutes are available from the Corporate Documents section of the Public Documents page of the College website Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Internal communications guidance and criteria used for decision making i.e. process systems and key personnel | Available on request freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Definition document | Availability |
| Policies and procedures for the conduct of College business | Student policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Procedures and policies relating to student services | Policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Policies and procedures for the provision of academic services | Student policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Policies and procedures for the recruitment and employment of staff | Policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Customer service | Complaints and Compliments webpage |
Records management and personal data policies | Policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
Equality and Diversity policies; Equality Scheme | |
| Estates Policy | Policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Health and Safety | Available from the Public Documents page of the College website. |
| Fileplans (high level, for current records management systems) | Not held |
| Charging regimes and policies | See section 6 of Publication Scheme document |
| Definition document | Availability |
| Public registers and registers held as public records. | Available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Asset registers and Information Asset Register | Available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| CCTV | Belfast Met CCTV Policy is available on the Public Documents Page of the College Website |
| Disclosure logs | Available upon request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Register of gifts and hospitality provided to Board members and senior staff | Available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Any register of interests kept in the department. Other lists required by law | Conflict of Interest Policy available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Definition document | Availability |
| Regulatory responsibilities | Competitions and Markets Authority Compliance with anti-discriminatory legislation and s75 of the NI Act 1998 Health and Safety legislation which is monitored by the Health and Safety Executive of NI Freedom of Information Act 2000 UK General Data Protection Regulations 2018 Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman |
| Prospectus and course content | |
| Welfare and counselling services | The Student Support page of the College website sets out all the areas of support and wellbeing for Belfast Met students |
| Careers advice | Careers and Employability Service |
Chaplaincy services and multi-faith provision | The Student Handbook provides information about Faith/Quiet rooms on various sites |
| Sports and recreational facilities | The Student Union Page of the College Website provides information about sports clubs and facilities |
Facilities relating to music, art and other cultural activities | |
| Services for industry | Policies are available on the Public Documents page of the College website. Additional information available on request from freedomofinformation@belfastmet.ac.uk |
| Services for public authorities | |
| Services for other organisations | Not held |
| Services for members of the public | Linen Lounge Urban Escape Hire facilities at Belfast Met |
| Services for which the NDPB is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees | Fees Policy is held on the Public Documents Page of the College Website |
| Leaflets, booklets, and newsletters | Advice for Parents, Carers and Guardians Belfast Met Information VideosBelfast Met Facebook |
| Advice and guidance | Contact Page |
| Media releases | Belfast Met News and Events |
What is the Publication Scheme and why do we have one?
Section 19 of the FOIA requires Public Authorities (i.e., Government and other public sector bodies, including Universities and Further Education Colleges) to produce "Publication Schemes", which are schedules of information to be routinely published by the Public Authorities.In this context, ‘publish’ is defined as ‘to make information routinely available’.
The publication of information is designed to increase the transparency and accountability of the Public Authority by enabling members of the public to routinely access information relating to its functions. Information may be available via links to website information, documents and where possible it should be made available in a re-usable format (dataset).
- Proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information, including environmental information, which is held by the College and falls within the classifications below.
- Specify the information which is held by the authority and falls within the classifications below.
- Proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information in line with the statements contained within this scheme.
- Produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed by members of the public.
- Review and update on a regular basis the information the authority makes available under this scheme.
- Produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information which is made proactively available.
- Make this Publication Scheme available to the public.
Information not covered by the Publication Scheme
Information held by the College but not listed as available via the Publication Scheme may be requested by submitting a Freedom of Information request to the College. Details on how to make this request and how the College will process it are available in the FE Sector Freedom of Information Policy. All requests will be processed in compliance with the FOIA and the FE Sector Freedom of Information Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
How to use the Publication Scheme
The FE Sector has provided the table below to enable individuals to browse our index of published information.The Publication Scheme is divided into the categories listed above (See section 3 above). Next to each category, the Colleges have provided the method by which the information is available. In most cases, a hyperlink will be provided to the information directly.
In some instances, e.g. where the information is too voluminous to publish online, the College will provide this upon request. Where this applies, the Publication Scheme will detail the appropriate contact details to direct such requests.
Requests for information which are or form part of a dataset or where the requester expresses a preference for the information to be electronic, will be released in.
Data sets published via the Publication Scheme will be periodically refreshed. This time will be determined by the business area.
Fees
Information which is published on the website or which can be transmitted electronically will incur no fee.We may charge for providing information in paper copy or on removable storage devices such as Computer discs or USB drives. Charges will reflect the actual costs of reproduction, consumables, and postage and will not exceed the costs accrued by the College or staff time.
If we intend to charge, we will tell you:
- the charge
- how it has been calculated
- how to pay
The requester will be made aware of any charges in advance of the information being collated.
Other formats
If you would like this scheme, or any of the information it covers, in a more accessible format, please contact the Data Protection Officer to discuss additional ways in which the information may be made available to you.
Contact details
Further details regarding this document can be obtained by contacting dataprotection@belfastmet.ac.uk
ICO Guidance
The FE Sector will continually refer to legislation and ICO guidance when processing Publication Scheme information requests.Further information is available to the public on the ICO website.