FOI requests

Dear Requester

Request for information - FOI12282

Thank you for your e-mail of 8th April 2012. We respond to each of your questions in turn.

1)  How many investigations has your department made into people requesting information from your department under the Freedom of Information Act? By investigation I refer to any enquiry, background check or other search about an FOI requester.

Ordnance Survey does not hold any records detailing numbers of investigations or background checks about FOI requesters.

2)  How many times has your department searched online for details about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold any information relating to online searches about a FOI requester.

3)  How many times has your department searched staff databases to check if an FOI requester is, or is connected to, someone employed by your department?

4)  How many times has your department searched service user databases to check if an FOI requester is, or is connected to, a service user of your department?

Ordnance Survey does not hold any information detailing the number of times the department has searched staff databases or service user databases to check if a FOI requester is connected to a service user in our department.

5)  How many times has your department made contact with other departments or public authorities to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold any information relating to the number of times we have made contact with other departments or public authorities to make enquiries about an FOI requester.

6)  How many times has your department made contact with private companies to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold information on the number of times our department has made contact with private companies to make enquiries about a FOI requester.

7)  How many times has your department used a credit reference agency to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

8)  How many times has your department employed the services of a private detective or detective agency to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

9)  How many times has your department contacted a police service or ACPO to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold information relating to the use of credit agencies, detective agencies, a police service or ACPO to make enquiries about a FOI requester.

10)  How many times has your department contacted a UK government security service to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

11)  How many times has your department contacted a foreign government to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold this information as we have not contacted a security service or a foreign government to make enquiries about a FOI requester

12)  How many times has your department utilised powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to make enquiries about an FOI requester?

Ordnance Survey does not hold this information because we have not utilised our powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to make enquiries about FOI requesters.

13)  If more than zero at Q12 please detail which powers and how often each were used.

N/A

14)  In total over the 3 year period approximately how many working hours have been expended on investigating FOI requesters?

15)  In total over the 3 year period approximately how much money has been spent on investigating FOI requesters?

Ordnance Survey does not hold information on the number of working hours expended on investigating FOI requesters or how much money has been spend on investigating FOI requesters over a three year period, because we have hold no recorded information relating to any searches which may have been conducted.

Under Section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 'the duty to provide advice and assistance', we advise that although Section 8 (1) of the FOIA sets out the requirements of a valid request for information and says that a request must, amongst other things, state the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, one of the underlying principles of the FOIA is that the identity of the applicant is not taken into account. 

However, it can be relevant in certain circumstances, for example when a request is being made by the applicant for his/her own personal data, and so would be exempt under section 40 (1) of the FOIA (and could comprise a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998).

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance also states that public authorities should not seek proof of the applicants identity as a matter of course.

Your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. If you are unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal to our Appeals Officer at:

FOI Appeals Officer
Customer Service Centre
Ordnance Survey
Adanac Drive
SOUTHAMPTON
SO16 0AS

Please include the reference number above. The Appeals Officer will ensure that the process has been followed correctly, questioning any decisions taken regarding the original response and recommending disclosure of additional information if appropriate.

Thank you for your enquiry.