Request for information - Ref No: FOI241222
Request
We received your request on 7 February 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 am current doing a dissertation that seeks to investigate the relationship between austerity cuts since 2010 and health inequalities in the UK.
To do so, I would benefit from having a list of local authorities across England (and Scotland if possible), and the political party they voted for in 2010.
I have played around with the interactive maps provided on the website of OS but would need this data in excel form.
I have looked on data.gov.uk to find what I am looking for but cannot seem to find it.”
Our response
I confirm that Ordnance Survey does not hold the information you have requested.
Advice and Assistance
Local Authorities (LAs) are divided into wards represented by elected Councillors for each ward, this is carried out by using the LAs boundaries. Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected based on Parliamentary constituencies, one MP represents a constituency and the constituency boundaries do not follow the same geography as the LAs boundaries. From our interpretation of your request, you appear to be asking for a data set which links LAs to MPs and this information does not exist.
The results of the 2010 election are in the public domain and can be linked to our Boundary-Line Product which is Open Data and can be exported from QGIS (Open-source GIS software) into an csv. format openable in Excel.
You may find a closer correlation to LAs by looking at which party was controlling the Local Council, these boundaries are in Boundary-Line and accessed as a csv. format openable in Excel.
Below are the .csv files required for this:
You may find the links below useful:
Boundary-Line™ | OS Data downloads | OS Data Hub
Election maps | General public | OS (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
If you require further support accessing or using our data you can contact us using the details here: Contact us | General enquiries | OS (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
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.