Request for information - Ref No: FOI241212
Request
We received your request on 15 January 2024.
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.
A copy of your request is set out in the extract below:
“I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all transactions over £25,000 for the period March 2023 to December 2023.
Please provide the data in a machine-readable format (preferably csv). As a minimum, please make sure to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also provide details on the procurement category/description of each transaction if you have it.”
Our response
I confirm that Ordnance Survey does hold the information that you have requested. However, we are unable to comply with your request and provide the information as we consider the information to be exempt from disclosure.
Period March 2023 to November 2023
We consider the information for the period March 2023 to November 2023 to be exempt from disclosure under section 21(3) (Information accessible to the applicant by other means) of the FOIA, as explained below.
Expenditure over £25K is routinely published on Ordnance Survey’s website via our Publication scheme under the heading ‘What we spend and how’ The information for March 2023 to November 2023 has already been published and can be viewed at the link here: January 2023-November 2023 Expenditure (.xlsx).
Where information is proactively made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme, section 21(3) applies as the information is considered to be reasonably accessible. This is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the public interest test.
Period December 2023
The information for December 2023 is not currently published in our Publication Scheme. However, we consider this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 22 (Information intended for future publication) of the FOIA, as explained below.
Expenditure over 25K is routinely published on Ordnance Surveys website via our Publication Scheme. At the time this request was received, Ordnance Survey had the intention of publishing this information, as part of our routine update to our Publication Scheme. The information for December 2023 is intended for publication by the end of March 2024 and will be available in .xlsx format.
Public Interest Test
Section 22 is a qualified exemption, and we are required to consider the public interest. Ordnance Survey recognises there is a public interest in providing the information that falls within the scope of this request.
At the time this request was received OS had a settled intention to publish the data for December 2023 by the end of March 2024, as part of our compliance with our obligations set out at section 19 of the FOIA, which relates to the Publication Scheme.
As this information is due to be published by the end of March 2024, we believe it reasonable to withhold this information until it is published on Ordnance Survey’s website in accordance with our publication process. To provide the information sooner would undermine our publication process, which allows time for review and validation of the data, and it would take staff away from their normal day to day role.
Internal review
Your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. If you are unhappy with our response, you may request an internal review with our Internal Review Officer by contacting them, within two months of receipt of our final response to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request, as follows:
Internal Review Officer
Customer Service Centre
Ordnance Survey
Adanac Drive
Southampton
SO16 0AS
Please include the reference number above. You may request an internal review where you believe Ordnance Survey has:
- Failed to respond to your request within the time limits (normally 20 working days)
- Failed to tell you whether or not we hold the information
- Failed to provide the information you have requested
- Failed to explain the reasons for refusing a request
- Failed to correctly apply an exemption or exception
The Internal Review Officer will not have been involved in the original decision. They will conduct an independent internal review and will inform you of the outcome of the review normally within 20 working days, but exceptionally within 40 working days, in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidance.
The Internal Review Officer will either: uphold the original decision, provide an additional explanation of the exemption/s applied or release further information, if it is considered appropriate to do so.
Appeal to Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
If you are still dissatisfied after our internal review, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You should make complaints to the ICO within six weeks of receiving the outcome of an internal review. The easiest way to lodge a complaint is through the ICO website.