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Contact with tobacco industry

This Freedom of Information request asks for a list of contact between OS and tobacco companies.

Request for information - Ref No: FOI231136

Request

Thank you for your email of 20 February 2023, requesting information from Ordnance Survey in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, as set out in the extract below:

“I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please provide a list of any and all contact your organisation and/or staff have had with British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, as well as any other domestic or transnational tobacco companies or anyone representing the tobacco industry including subsidiaries of tobacco industry.

I would like this information for the period from 1 April 2021 to 20 February 2023.

Contact would primarily include attending or arranging meetings or functions, and responding to correspondence or phone calls.

Please break down the information by:

  • Tobacco company or representative’s name
  • Date of contact(s)
  • Type of contact (meeting, email, letter, phone call, text/app message or video call, e-card or any other form of electronic communication)
  • Place of contact, if relevant
  • Purpose of contact
  • Outcome of contact, including if no action taken

I request that the information be provided electronically. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.”

Our response

I confirm that Ordnance Survey does not hold the information you have requested.

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

Contact us via our FoI form

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.