Freedom of Information requests

The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations give you the right to request information held by public authorities, including this Council.  

Information already available

Publication Scheme

We aim to publish as much information as we can on our website. Before submitting a request you can check our Publications Scheme to find out if the information is already available.

Disclosure Log

Oxford City Council receives nearly a thousand information requests per year, but most of the information is sent to just one requester. From July 2023 our Disclosure Log will make requests and the responses we provide available to the public.

Please check our disclosure log before submitting a request for information, as we may well have already respond to your question/s.

You can search our responses by keyword and date.

We have a duty to protect the personal information of the people that contact us. Therefore, in most circumstances we have removed information that might identify who has submitted a request. 

Oxford City Council is committed to making all our communications as accessible as possible. However, we may need to provide information in formats that are difficult to read. If you need information we have published on our Disclosure Log in a different format please contact freedomofinformation@oxford.gov.uk

Information that we do not hold

We are often asked for information on the following services in Oxford:

• Schools/Education
• Libraries
• On-street parking
• Social care

For information on the above issues we suggest that you contact Oxfordshire County Council on their Make a request for information page.

Oxford Direct Services Group manage their own FOIs, for data they hold please contact freedomofinformation@odsgroup.co.uk 

Make a Freedom of information request

We can respond to your Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations request if they:

• Are made in writing (email or letter)
• include the name of the person making the request
• include an email or postal address for correspondence
• describe the information requested

We will respond to these requests within 20 working days.

You can submit a request directly to us using our online form:

Make a Freedom of Information Request

If you are unable to use the online form you can make a request by email or post using the contact details below.

Email: freedomofinformation@oxford.gov.uk

What happens to your request

Once we receive your request you will receive an acknowledgement confirming receipt and providing you with a reference number. You will receive a response to your Freedom of Information request within 20 working days.

We are committed to open government and making as much information as possible accessible to the general public. However, sometimes we won't be able to give you the information you ask for as it is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act. These exemptions include:

• Information which is already accessible, for example through our Publication Scheme
• Personal data about people other than yourself

If we are not able to supply you with the information you have requested, we will write to you within 20 working days to let you know why.

You can read the full list of exemptions for more information on why we can't fulfil certain requests.

Appeals and Complaints

If you are unhappy with any part of the response provided to you by our Freedom of Information Officer you are entitled to ask us for an internal review of the decision(s) made.

You may do this by contacting us at the address below:

Email: monitoringofficer@oxford.gov.uk

Or by post:

The Monitoring Officer
Town Hall,
St Aldate's,
Oxford, OX1 1BX

If, after the result of an internal review you are still not satisfied you can write to the Information Commissioner to intervene on your behalf.

You can find further details and the address to write to on the Freedom of Information page of the Information Commissioner's Office website.

FOI statistics for 2023