Request for information - Ref No: FOI221124
Request
Thank you for your email of 19 December 2022, requesting information from Ordnance Survey in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, as set out in the extract below:
“I would like to ask if it is possible for you to add the parliamentary constituencies used for the February 1974, October 1974 and 1979 general elections for England, Scotland, and Wales to your open data source (accessed through Vision of Britain) and other links. At the moment you have the maps that go back to 1885 but this gap creates a hole that needs to be filled.”
Our response
I confirm that Ordnance Survey does not hold the information you have requested.
We do not hold mapping/GIS data for the parliamentary constituencies used for the February 1974, October 1974 and 1979 general elections for England, Scotland, and Wales since we do not retain this historical mapping.
Under the duty to provide information and assistance in accordance with section 16 of FOIA, we can provide the following information which may assist you in this matter.
Our website provides useful information on historical mapping, where you can buy it and information which is accessible in various archives, such as The National Archives and Local Deposit Libraries: Historical map archives (ordnancesurvey.co.uk). In addition to the information listed here you may wish to contact the Houses of Parliament.
The BoundaryLine product does have a set of Supplementary files for the Ceremonial Boundaries but no Parliamentary boundaries for the 1974 elections. This can be accessed via the link here: Ceremonial Boundaries (pdf)
The earliest data OS holds for the BoundaryLine product is 1997. BoundaryLine product became OpenData from October 2010. The link here provides further information on our Boundary Line Product and a link to download historical country boundaries from the late 19th Century: Boundary-Line | OS Products (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
The Vision of Britain website is not maintained by OS, details on their website states that some of the mapping has been sourced from the British Map Library Collection.
Please contact our customer service centre if you have any questions regarding our products. Customer Services can be contacted by email: CustomerServices@os.uk, and are also available for over-the-phone queries Monday to Friday, 08:30–17:30 (except for Bank Holidays), on 03456 05 05 05.
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, following the outcome of the internal review you remain unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal, within three months of receiving our response, with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Further information can be found on the ICO website (ico.org.uk) under ‘Report a concern’ or you may wish to call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.