Responding to enquiries including FoIs

You can respond to these types of enquiry and include mapping where it is essential.

This guidance is based on:

• The presumption that you are subject to either the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA) 2002, and
• Our understanding of the laws as they stand in respect of our products and intellectual property rights.

This means they may be revised as legislation is interpreted, reviewed and updated.

It should be noted that an application from an enquirer only applies to their right to ‘information’. It does not mean that information has to be provided in a particular format.

There may also be other factors and exemptions relevant to your data that are not relevant to us.

It should also be noted that the Code of Practices for both FOIA and FOISA specifically refers to the fact that public authorities should consult with others who have an interest in the data, which is the subject of a Disclosure Request.

Where you are making the information available, as this is a form of publishing, you need to ensure that you applied the relevant publishing terms. For more information see the publishing your information section of this guidance.

For more information on answering requests for disclosure under FOIA and FOISA refer to our guidance on information access legislation and OS data in relation to the PSGA and the OSMA.

You can respond to these types of enquiry and include mapping where it is essential.

This guidance is based on:

• The presumption that you are subject to either the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004, and
• Our understanding of the laws as they stand in respect of our products and intellectual property rights.

This means that they may be revised as legislation is interpreted, reviewed and updated.

It is important to note we do not consider our maps and data to be classified as environmental information under EIR. Our map data merely shows that a topographical feature exists in a particular geographic position and does not declare either the state of a feature or whether any activity has an effect upon it. However, It may be that our maps and data when combined with other information, in certain circumstances, may be considered environmental information.

An application from an enquirer only applies to their right to ‘information’. It does not mean that information has to be provided in a particular format.

There may also be other factors and exemptions relevant to your data that are not relevant to us.

Where you are making the information available, as this is a form of 'publishing', you need to ensure that you applied the relevant publishing terms. For more information see the publishing your information section of this guidance.

For more information on answering requests for disclosure of environmental information under EIR refer to our guidance on information access legislation and OS data in relation to the PSGA and the OSMA.

The PSI Regulations do not apply to information in which a third party owns relevant intellectual property (IP).

All OS data should be treated by you as being third-party IP.

You should refuse all requests under the PSI Regulations for re-use of OS mapping and digital data or information containing such mapping or data.

More guidance on Re-use of Public Sector Information.

These guidance documents explain the circumstances in which OS is happy for its Licensed Data (or data derived from it) to be released, thereby saving both members and OS time which would otherwise be spent looking at requests on an individual basis.

The guidance also sets out those areas where OS may have concerns about its information being disclosed.

• Guidance for PSGA members

Important notes:

• Nothing in the guidance is to be interpreted as any form of permission or licence from us to use our mapping or data; as use of our licensed data is covered by our formal licences (including member licence).
• Neither is this legal advice and should not be relied upon as such, for that you need to refer to your own advisors.

Answering an enquiry about an existing application is part of your core business, so you may provide mapping where appropriate to support that answer and can be either paper or data form.

As this is a form of publishing, you need to ensure that you applied the relevant publishing terms. For more information see the publishing your information section.

However, if the query is about the initial planning requirements including planning applications, then you may supply any information that you are obliged to provide as part of your core business.

Please note, for both of the above, you may also apply charges that you are expressly permitted to make pursuant to the relevant legislative authority that governs the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and/or Northern Ireland to which you are subject.

Important note:

Please be aware your Member Licence does not allow you to provide a basic map that the applicant will normally be required to provide as part of their application.

We don't sell planning application maps ourselves. You can get them from our partners, who are able to supply large scale OS maps, centred on a location of your choice. You can order them online, or visit an outlet near you.

Yes, you can respond to these types of request. This is because answering them is part of your core business. You may provide mapping where appropriate to support that answer and can be either paper or data form. As this is a form of publishing, you need to ensure that you applied the relevant publishing terms.

For more information see the publishing your information section.

You may also apply charges that you are expressly permitted to make pursuant to the relevant legislative authority that governs the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and/or Northern Ireland to which you are subject.

Yes.

For example:

• If you are getting lots requests for the same information, you can can you make the information reasonably available on (or through) your website.? For more information on web publishing. This could include both viewing and downloading your information, although this may need the use of an End User Licence.
• Have you considered whether you could make available a version of your information as open data and use the Open Government Licence, i.e. through seeking a derived data exemption?

Whilst you may be asked for information, this doesn't mean that you are always obliged to provide it.

For more information: PSGA members; see the Information Commissioners Office guide.

You can provide information to local community groups, and this is done in the same way as a request from an individual.

For instance, local community groups are actively being encouraged to become engaged in local matters. However, unlike town, parish and community councils these community groups are not eligible to join either of these OS mapping agreements in their own right.

How, and what, you provide them and how you share this will depend on how their request directly relates to and or supports your core business.

Public libraries are regarded as being a department of their local authority, so have the same rights and obligations as other departments.

This means that you can use them as a resource to answer enquiries and in the same way as your customer service centre.

In addition, it is recognised that public libraries also facilitate certain public administration and fair dealing uses which are allowed under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and do not need our licence.