Freedom of Information rEQUEST

Below is a template Freedom of Information Request that can be used to uncover links between arms companies and educational institutions. The legislation gives people the right to request access to recorded information held by public sector organisations.

If you require any assistance with making a request, please get in touch. Please also pass on any information received to assist in the development of our database. 

Template FOI 

To whom it may concern,

This is a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Could you please provide the following pieces of information, related to relationships between the school and the following companies:

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Raytheon Technologies

Boeing

Northrop Grumman Corp.

General Dynamics Corp.

BAE Systems

Leonardo

L3Harris Technologies

Airbus

Thales

Safran

Rolls-Royce

MBDA

Elbit Systems

Rheinmetall

Saab

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Textron

Babcock International Group

Jacobs Engineering Group

Serco Group

Teledyne Technologies

Hensoldt

QinetiQ

Curtiss-Wright Corp.

CAE

Moog

Melrose Industries

Kongsberg Gruppen

Ultra Electronics Group

Meggitt

(1) confirm if there is any formal relationship, partnership, or sponsorship agreement between the school and a company from the above list. If this does exist, please specify the date from which this commenced, any relevant documentation, and all written and digital correspondence between the school and the company. 

(2) if the company or its representatives have delivered or participated in any events on the school grounds, including but not limited to: workshops, assemblies, careers fairs, lessons. If yes, please specify the date of these events, any relevant documentation, and all written and digital correspondence between the school and the company. 

(3) if the school, its representatives, or its students have participated or advertised any events organised by companies from the above list, including but not limited to: workshops, competitions, careers road shows, training events. If yes, please specify the date from which this commenced, any relevant documentation, and all written and digital correspondence between the school and the company. 

(4) if the school has advertised or coordinated work experience, training opportunities, or apprenticeships with companies from the above list. If yes, please provide any relevant documentation, and all written and digital correspondence between the school and the company. 

Please key-word search the names of the above companies  to assist you in finding this information, along with any other methods that would identify relationships between arms companies and the school. 

Please provide an index of the relevant information provided.

If you are to invoke Section 43 to withhold information in relation to any of these questions please note you must provide details of the exact FOIA exemption, details of who would be prejudiced by this information, and a public interest test justifying a conclusion with arguments for and against the release of the information.

If you are to invoke Section 12 to withhold information in relation to any of these questions please provide details of how locating, retrieving and extracting this information would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. Please also be aware of your duty under section 16 (1) of the Act to advise and assist me in narrowing my request to bring it within the appropriate limit.

Thank you very much for your assistance with this request. If you would like any clarification on the information I have asked for, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

In its guidance the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said that the requirement to respond 'promptly' and the requirement to respond no later than 20 working days were to be considered as separate obligations. Public bodies should be able to justify why it took them as long as 20 days to respond to requests in cases where they do not act more promptly than that "long stop" deadline. I look forward to receiving your response in the next 20 working days. If you are unable to provide a response in the next 20 working days please provide an updated timeline by the deadline INSERT DATE.

Please confirm upon receipt of this email.