Freedom of information (FOI) releases from Oxford City Council

This is a disclosure log of Oxford City Council's responses to freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) requests that might be of wider public interest.

If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can make a new FOI request.

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511 disclosures

  1. Freedom of Information request: land and building asset register

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide a copy of the council's current land and building asset register: the complete list of land and property assets held by the council, as recorded in your estates or asset management system at the date of this request. For each asset, please include the following fields where held: * Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) * Asset or building name * Street name and number, post town and postcode * Tenure (freehold or leasehold) and the occupation characteristic that applies (for example occupied by the authority, leased out, ground leasehold, licence, or vacant) * Whether the asset is land only or land with a permanent building I note these are the fields the council is required to publish annually under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, as mandated by the Local Government (Transparency Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015, so I anticipate this information is readily available. As this information constitutes a dataset, please provide it in a re-usable electronic format (CSV or Excel) in accordance with section 11(1A) of the Act, rather than as a PDF. If any part of this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit, please provide the remainder and advise, in line with your duty under section 16, how the request could be refined. Please treat this as a request made on behalf of Unifi ID Ltd.

    Published: 9 October 2026

  2. FOI Request – Name of Transformation / Change Team

    I am submitting a Freedom of Information request to understand how your council refers to the team responsible for transformational activity, organisational change, service redesign, or improvement programmes. Please complete the below: - Does your council have a team titled “Transformation”? If not, what is the team called/reffered to as? If you do not have a centralised team, or any releavnt, please specify in your response.

    Published: 7 October 2026

  3. Freedom of Information request - Additional Planning / Licensing Fees

    This request relates to planning and licensing fees charged, over and above any national planning fees etc. 1) Please could you let me know if you charge additional fees for planning applications, these might include changes to submissions, direct submissions, invalid applications and may vary depending upon size of application etc. This list is not exhaustive. Please either present me with a direct link to the page on your website if this complete with none missing or ideally detail the various extra charges, if applicable, in the reply here. 2) Please let me know if you have additional or selective licensing of single lets or HMOs within your area, and what these are. Please let me know fees for these additional or selective licences and whether these fees vary on size of property. Again if a complete fee structure is available on your website, with none missing please provide me with a direct link as opposed to a link to your home page. 3) In both planning fees and licensing fees above, please confirm if a) you have confirmed planned introduction of increased or additional fees in either planning or licensing; or if either fees have recently increased the date of these increases. Recently being in 2026. and/or b) whether you have proposals to add additional fees to either, but not yet approved or they under consultation. Thanking you in advance for your kind assistance,

    Published: 6 October 2026

  4. Freedom of Information request - Direct Planning Applications to the Planning Department

    In light of the increased fees by the Planning Portal, which we understand to be a private company now, we are not aware of any legislation that prevents us submitting applications directly via consultants or as individuals. I am trying to understand the methods allowed by your planning department according to any internal rules or guidance that you might hold. I am not looking for any planning advice in this request, merely your policies as determined by your planning department. In light of this, please can you advise me as to whether we can submit a planning applications or prior approval requests directly to the local authority in accordance with the relevant legislation as laid down by the government. Please advise as to whether any forms are acceptable, provided they contain the same information as contained in forms supplied by the Planning Portal or via forms that contain your local authority branding as hosted by the Planning Portal. Please advise as to which email address the forms should be submitted. Please also advise as to how payment should be made to the local authority for the correct fee. Finally please advise on any additional fee to submit directly and the reasons for this fee.

    Published: 6 October 2026

  5. Environmental Information Regulations charging enquiry

    I am writing to ask a short question regarding your authority's approach to charging for Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests. Please could you confirm which of the following applies: 1. Your authority does not charge for EIR requests. 2. Your authority charges an hourly rate. If so, please state the current financial year's hourly rate. 3. Your authority charges a fixed price. If so, please state the current financial year's fixed price. I would be grateful for a response at your convenience. Thank you for your time.

    Published: 6 October 2026

  6. FOI Request - Business Rates - Improvement Relief

    In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, could you please provide me with the following information for your local authority: - A list of all the local authority reference numbers (as per the Valuation Office Agency website) of the properties that have been awarded Improvement Relief since the scheme was introduced from 01/04/2024.

    Published: 6 October 2026

  7. Freedom of Information Request - Procurement Routes

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Council's procurement and use of cyber security services. Where available, please provide details for the current contract(s), supplier(s) and procurement arrangements relating to the following services. 1. Procurement Routes 1. Which procurement platform(s) does the Council use for IT and cyber security procurements (for example Contracts Finder, Proactis, YORtender, Chest, Delta eSourcing or similar)? 2. Which framework agreements does the Council typically use for cyber security services (for example G-Cloud, DOS, CCS frameworks, Bloom or equivalent)? 2. Penetration Testing and Security Testing Please provide: * Current supplier name(s) * Contract start date * Contract expiry date * Contract value or annual spend * Procurement route or framework used * Whether services include infrastructure, web application, mobile, cloud, CHECK, IT Health Check or other penetration testing services 3. Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Please provide: * Current supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract start date * Contract expiry date * Procurement route or framework used 4. ISO 27001 Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * ISO 27001 consultancy * ISO 27001 implementation support * ISO 27001 internal audit * ISO 27001 certification preparation Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 5. PCI DSS Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * PCI DSS consultancy * PCI DSS QSA services * PCI DSS penetration testing * PCI DSS compliance support Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 6. Incident Response and Digital Forensics Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * Incident response retainers * Digital forensics retainers * DFIR services * Cyber breach response services Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 7. Future Procurement Activity Where known, please provide: * The expected renewal or re-procurement date for each service * Whether the Council currently expects to re-tender, extend or recompete the contract 8. Relevant Departments Please provide the name of the department or team responsible for: * Cyber Security / Information Security * ICT / IT Services * Procurement and Commercial Management I am not requesting personal information. Generic team names or departmental contact details are sufficient. Where information is already publicly available, please provide links to the relevant contract award notice, procurement record or contract register entry. Electronic response by email would be appreciated.

    Published: 6 October 2026

  8. Freedom of Information request - Christmas display energy usage and cost

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to please request the following information relating to the council's Christmas lights, decorations and festive displays in high streets and town centres. For each of the last three Christmas periods (2023, 2024 and 2025), please provide: 1. The total amount spent on Christmas lights, decorations, displays and installations in local high streets and town centres, including installation, maintenance, removal, etc. 2. The total number of Christmas light fittings operated in local high streets and town centres. 3. The total number of days that the Christmas lights, decorations, displays and installations were switched on for. 4. The average number of hours per day that the Christmas lights, decorations, displays and installations were switched on, or the scheduled switch-on and switch-off times, where available. 5. The total electricity consumption of the Christmas lights, decorations, displays and installations in kWh. 6. The total cost of electricity used to power the Christmas lights, decorations, displays and installations in GBP. Where recorded, please provide details of the type of lighting or displays used, including the number of LED lights and/or other types of lighting. If your authority does not hold information on energy consumption or electricity costs, please provide the other information requested, where available. Please provide a breakdown of the requested information per Christmas period.

    Published: 5 October 2026

  9. STAFFING / COMMUNICATIONS, TRAVEL & HOUSING SPEND / ODS / COST PER SERVICE AREA

    Dear Oxford City Council, Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information relating to Oxford City Council (the council directly, not Oxford Direct Services or other wholly-owned companies unless specifically noted below). 1. STAFFING For each of the last three full financial years (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25): a) The total number of staff employed by the council (headcount and full-time equivalent/FTE), including permanent, fixed-term, and apprentice contracts. b) A breakdown of staff numbers (headcount and FTE) by department, directorate, or service area. c) The number of staff employed within the council's communications/press/marketing function specifically, and the annual staffing cost (salaries plus on-costs) for that function. 2. COMMUNICATIONS SPEND For each of the last three full financial years: a) Total spend on external communications, marketing, PR, and public consultation activity (including agency fees, design, print, digital advertising, and social media spend), excluding statutory public notices. b) Total spend on the council's website, newsletters, and any paid social media promotion. 3. TRAVEL SPEND For each of the last three full financial years: a) Total staff travel and subsistence expenditure (mileage, public transport, hotels, and related expenses claimed by officers and councillors). b) Total spend on the council's own vehicle fleet (excluding Oxford Direct Services' fleet), if applicable. 4. HOUSING SPEND a) A breakdown of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget by function (e.g. repairs and maintenance, management costs, capital works, homelessness/temporary accommodation) for each of the last three full financial years. b) Total temporary accommodation spend, including the number of households and the split between council-owned/leased accommodation and commercial (hotel/B&B) accommodation, for each of the last three full financial years. 5. OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES (ODS) a) The total annual payment made BY the council to Oxford Direct Services Limited and Oxford Direct Services Trading Limited for services delivered under contract, for each of the last three full financial years (as distinct from ODS's total company turnover, which includes non-council commercial income). b) Any annual management fee, dividend, or surplus returned BY ODS to the council, for each of the last three full financial years. 6. COST PER SERVICE AREA For each of the last three full financial years, a breakdown of net revenue spending by service area (as published in the council's spending plans) cross-referenced with the FTE staff numbers allocated to each of those service areas, so that an approximate cost-per-FTE and spend-per-service-area figure can be calculated. If it would be quicker or clearer to provide any of the above in an existing published document (such as a Budget Book appendix, workforce report, or management accounts extract),

    Published: 2 October 2026

  10. Freedom of Information Request : Small business Rates Relief

    To The Freedom of Information Officer We are surveying Billing Authorities in England under the Freedom of Information Act, on changes in the distribution of Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR). Please can you provide responses to the below within the 20 working day limit outlined by the aforementioned legislation. - How many businesses in your authority received SBRR in the 2025-2026 financial year? - What percentage of all local businesses, having a rateable value, does this figure represent ? - How many businesses have so far been granted SBRR in the 2026-2027 financial year ? - What percentage of all local businesses, having a rateable value, does this figure represent ? - How many properties with a rateable value below £15k in 2025-26 now have a rateable value above £15k? - How many properties with a rateable value above £15k in 2025-26 now have a rateable value below £15k ?

    Published: 30 September 2026