Your request initially asks for the information for the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, however, the specific questions ask for information covering different time periods.
You made the same request on 13 March 2024 (Ref No: FOI-24-1227). You can view a copy of our response to this request dated 5 April 2024 here: List of Staff Networks, funding, events 2019-20-2022-23 | FOI request. In this response we provided you with the information from 2019 up to the date of your request (13 March 2024).
To be clear, this response therefore covers any new information held from the date of your last request under F01-24-1227 (13 March 2024), to the date of your new request (17 April 2025). Where the information requested has not changed since our previous response under FOI-24-1227, this is stated.
I confirm that Ordnance Survey does hold some of the information you have requested. Where the information is not held or exempt this is stated.
Taking each request in turn, I confirm the following:
1. A list of all the staff networks at the organisation
Information held, please see our response to FOI-24-1227. This information has not changed since our previous response.
2. Whether each network receives internal funding and, if so, how much (please express annually for the last four financial years)
Information not held, please see our response to FOI-24-1227 which explains that we do not have internal funding allocated to each specific network.
Under section 16 of the FOIA, the duty to provide information and assistance, I confirm that we paid a fee of £3,250 in August 2024, as one of the sponsors of Southampton Pride.
3. How much FTE equivalent staff time each network is entitled to. For example, a staff network may have a chair who’s entitled to spend 10% of their working hours devoted to the network (please express annually for the last three financial years)
Information not held, please see our response to FOI-24-1227 which explains there is no set allocation of time.
4. A list of events that each network has held in this financial year so far (April to the present day), including the title of the event, information on any guest speakers and the time of the event
Information held.
Please see our response to FOI-24-1227 for events held prior to 13 March 2024.
The only new information is as follows:
| Network | Date of Event | Title | Speaker |
| Women + Development | 6 March 2025 between 1400-1530 | ESRI/OS Visible Role Model Panel (Hybrid event) |
Highlighting women in technology with a 60 minute panel, plus networking opportunities.
The names of the panel members are exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA – See below. |
| |
11 March 2025 between 1300-1400
| An Audience with Sarah Hodgetts, Director of the National Data Library and Geospatial (Virtual) |
A talk about the Director’s career and appointment as Director of the National Data Library.
|
In addition, in accordance with Section 16 of FOIA, the duty to provide information and assistance, I confirm that OS also Ran the following Masterclasses and the recordings are available to all employees:
- 13 June 2024 - Men’s Mental Health and Gender Equity Masterclass
- 19 November 2024 - Race, Intersectionality and Gender Equity Masterclass
- 10 December 2024 - Gender Equity and Disability Masterclass
Section 40(2) (Personal information)
The information relating to the names of external guest speakers and OS employees is held by Ordnance Survey but is exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information constitutes personal data.
Section 40(2) provides that personal data can be withheld if disclosure of this information would breach any of the data protection principles contained in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.
In this case disclosure of the names of the external guest speakers and OS employees would contravene the first data protection principle, which provides that personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, section 40(2) and (3) of the FOIA therefore apply.
In reaching this decision, we have particularly considered:
- the reasonable expectations of the individuals. Ordnance Survey considered that none of the individuals would have a reasonable expectation that their personal data would be disclosed;
- the consequences of disclosure; and
- any legitimate public interest in disclosure
Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the public interest test.