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College policies

Equality

Under the Equality Act 2010 Merton has a general duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities. The College has established an Equality Committee to help it comply with the requirements of the Act. We have a specific equality duty to publish relevant, proportionate information showing compliance with the Equality Act on a yearly basis.

Equality data includes information relating to the people among our employees, our students, and other people who receive a service from the College and who share a relevant protected characteristic. Characteristics protected under the Equality Act are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. They include marriage and civil partnership in respect of the need to eliminate discrimination in employment.

There are limits on the information which we can publish. The need to protect individual privacy means we are not able to publish information on groups of fewer than ten people or in other cases where there would be a risk of identification of individuals. Moreover, we do not currently routinely capture information on all of the protected characteristics. We are committed to improving the quality and range of our equality data over time.

Overall information for the University of Oxford on gender, race and disability can be found on the University's Equality and Diversity pages.

Safeguarding

The College has adopted a Safeguarding Policy (also available in PDF format). Any queries should be raised with the Academic Office.

Harassment
Data, Privacy, Information Security, and GDPR
College Handbook

Policies and procedures applying to students, including contractual information, academic and non-academic provision, obligations and discipline, confidentiality (medical and welfare), data protection, harassment and serious misconduct, grievances and complaints, computer use, freedom of speech, and health and safety are published in the College Handbook for Junior Members.

College Staff

Policies and procedures concerning College staff are contained in the Staff Handbook and Health & Safety Manual, which may be provided electronically, or in hard copy on payment of a charge. These documents include coverage of terms and conditions of employment, data protection, computer misuse, grievances, misconduct, equality, and health and safety.

Further policies and procedures concerning Fellows and academic staff are contained in the Statutes and Bylaws.

Freedom of Information

This publication scheme for Merton College in the University of Oxford describes the information made publicly available by the College, how the information can be accessed, and whether a charge will be made for it to cover administration costs.

The aim is to give a clear description of College publications which are routinely accessible, so that members of the public are informed of the nature of college activities and objectives in a transparent fashion.

All publications are available either in hard copy, electronically or on this website.

Information may not be published for one or several of the following reasons:

  • The College does not hold the information;
  • The information is exempt under one of the Freedom of Information exemptions, or Environmental Information Regulations exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
  • The information has been archived, is out of date or is otherwise inaccessible;
  • Compilation of the information would be impractical or excessively time consuming.

All queries, complaints, comments and suggestions concerning this Publication Scheme, including requests for provision of information in a more accessible format, should be addressed in writing to the Information Officer, who is responsible for maintaining the scheme on behalf of the College:

Fra’ John Eidinow
Dean and Keeper of the Statutes
Merton College
Merton Street
Oxford OX1 4JD
Telephone: 01865 286341
Email: foi@merton.ox.ac.uk

Any dissatisfaction with a response by the Information Officer may be referred to the Warden, who will arrange for the matter to be reviewed internally. Any further dissatisfaction with the outcome may be referred to:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

The publication scheme will be reviewed annually by the Information Officer and the copyright in this publication scheme and its contents is reserved to Merton College.
 

FOI: Organisational Information

Merton College was founded in 1264 under royal charter by Walter of Merton, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Rochester, and was established in Oxford by 1267. Merton is the earliest example of an independent English university college founded with its own statutes and endowment.

Legal Framework

The College is a charity whose object is for the public benefit to promote religion, education, learning and research through the provision of a college in Oxford or elsewhere. The College was registered as a charity number 1139022 on 15 November 2010. Prior to that date the College was an exempt charity as listed in schedule 2(b) of the Charities Act 1993.

The College’s governing documents are its Statutes enacted under the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923 and its Bylaws. Both documents can be provided on request in hard copy for a fee or electronically by email attachment.

Structure

Information on the College's organisational structure can be found in the Annual Report and Financial Statements, which serves as the trustees' annual report.

FOI: Strategies & Plans

Information on the College's strategies & plans can be found in the Annual Report and Financial Statements, which serves as the trustees' annual report.

FOI: Decision-making Processes

All key decisions are made by the Governing Body of the College on the basis of reports and recommendations submitted by College Committees or College Officers.

Copies or extracts of Governing Body Minutes can be provided in hard copy on payment of a charge. Minutes of more recent meetings may be made available electronically.

College Committees and College Officers have delegated authority to make limited decisions within the framework of procedures and mandates that are approved by the Governing Body. These are set out in the Statutes and Bylaws, and in the College Handbook.

FOI: Policies & Procedures

Policies and procedures applying to students, including contractual information, academic and non-academic provision, obligations and discipline, confidentiality (medical and welfare), data protection, harassment and serious misconduct, grievances and complaints, computer use, freedom of speech, and health and safety are published in the College Handbook.

Policies and procedures concerning College staff are contained in the Staff Handbook and Health & Safety Manual, which may be provided electronically, or in hard copy on payment of a charge. These documents include coverage of terms and conditions of employment, data protection, computer misuse, grievances, misconduct, equality, and health and safety.

Further policies and procedures concerning Fellows and academic staff are contained in the Statutes and Bylaws.