Our Policy
Our Policy
Policy Statement on the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and the Freedom of Information (
The Trust is registered under the DPA (Registration No. Z9592913) and adheres to the Data Protection principles laid down by the DPA. It is not bound by the FoISA since it is not a Scottish Public Authority. Nevertheless, in responding to any request for information, the Trust seeks to comply with the spirit of that Act.
Many of the Trust’s Schemes are competitive. The Trust receives more applications/nominations than it can fund from the budget, so it has to make choices on which awards to make and which to decline. It is imperative that these choices are soundly based and objective. In some Schemes the Trust asks for references from referees nominated by the candidate or the university. The Trust may also seek independent advice from other referees and from academic assessors. Confidentiality between the Trust and the referees or assessors is essential to ensure that the advice given is candid and the importance of that confidentiality plays a significant role in how the Trust manages requests for information under the DPA.
In asking a nominator or referee to provide a report commenting on an application/nomination, we will ask candidates to agree that the report provided will remain confidential. In signing application/nomination forms, candidates agree that the information provided is, to the best of their knowledge complete and accurate, and that the Trust may process the data provided in accordance with the DPA.
While the Trust is prepared to explain why an application has been considered ineligible for support, the Trust will not enter into correspondence which would involve, directly or indirectly, discussion of, or comparison with, other applications, whether successful or unsuccessful.