Shelagh Gaskill Information Law Scholarship

Pinsent Masons is offering free legal training on Freedom of Information and Data Protection to support the voluntary and charity sectors.

The Scholarship programme gives Information Officers or those in similar roles who work in not-for-profit organisations the chance to obtain Data Protection or Freedom of Information training through Pinsent Masons' courses, at no cost to the organisation or the individual. Candidates will be expected to take the Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) certificate examination. As well as providing the tools to perform their jobs more effectively, candidates who succeed in the examinations will benefit by acquiring a formal and nationally recognised qualification.

The Scholarship is intended to help and support help charities, voluntary and community organisations which would find the cost of training employees about information law difficult to bear. The Scholarship has been named for Shelagh Gaskill who was a leading data protection specialist lawyer and headed Pinsent Masons' Information Law team as a partner for many years. It marks her significant contribution to this area of law and her role in championing the rights of individuals.

Pinsent Masons recognises that there is an increasing need for Information Officers to develop skills and be well informed about Data Protection and Freedom of Information laws, to best guide their organisations on how personal information can be used or to effectively request information held by government.

The Scholarship will run for three years from July 2006 and be open to anyone who works in the voluntary or community sector. Successful applicants should be able to share their skills with the wider community, cascade the learning they have undertaken and apply their new skills to the benefit of the community.

If you would like to apply for the scholarship please follow the steps below, where you will find the application form and guidance notes that provide additional details of the programme.

How to apply:

First step - review guidance notes to ensure you are eligible for the scholarship
Second step - complete application form and send to Melissa Gieras at 30 Aylesbury Street, London, EC1R 0ER or by email to melissa.gieras@pinsentmasons.com

You will be contacted about the outcome of your application within the next few weeks, following the deadline date, and once it has been reviewed by our committee.

Important Information

The application deadline for the first set of applications is 1 July, 2006
The deadline for subsequent applications in following years is 1 January for a course in July or October or 1 July for a course in January and April
The first award will be given in December, 2006, allowing the selected candidates to start their DP or FOI course in January
Courses are currently available in London, Leeds or Manchester