FOI release

Freedom of Information Request – Business Rates Data

This request was refused in full, so we didn't provide the information the requester asked for. This may include information where we can neither confirm nor deny that we hold it.

Case reference FOI2026/00765

Received 20 July 2026

Published 17 August 2026

Request

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please provide your most recent available extract of the authority’s non-domestic rating database, covering all hereditaments appearing in the local rating list. For each hereditament or business-rates account, please provide the following fields where held: 1. Billing Authority property reference number; 2. VOA assessment reference number; 3. Full property address; 4. Property postcode; 5. Property description; 6. Current rateable value; 7. Ratepayer name; 8. Ratepayer type or legal status, where recorded, such as: - limited company; - limited liability partnership; - public body; - charity; - partnership; - sole trader; - individual; 9. Company registration number, where recorded; 10. Date the current ratepayer became liable; 11. Date liability ended, where applicable; 12. Current occupation status, including whether the property is: - occupied; - unoccupied; - exempt; - partly occupied; - deleted from the rating list; 13. Date the property became empty, where applicable; 14. Date any empty-property exemption ends or ended; 15. The type of every mandatory or discretionary relief currently applied; 16. The percentage or monetary amount of each relief; 17. The commencement date of each relief; 18. The end date of each relief, where recorded; 19. Whether the account is currently subject to transitional relief or transitional adjustment; 20. The gross charge for the current financial year; 21. The net charge after reliefs and adjustments; 22. The current account balance, identifying whether it is a debit, nil or credit balance; 23. The date on which the account record was last materially updated. For the avoidance of doubt, I am requesting information already held within your revenues or non-domestic rating system. I am not asking the authority to undertake property research, make judgements about eligibility or create information that is not already held. Where the authority considers the names of individuals, sole traders or partners to be exempt under section 40(2), please redact only those names and provide all remaining non-personal information, including the property address, assessment reference, occupation status, liability dates and relief information. Please do not withhold the names of incorporated companies, limited liability partnerships, public authorities, registered charities or other legal persons on the basis of section 40, as information relating solely to a legal person is not personal data. If any requested field is not held, please identify that field as not held rather than refusing the request in its entirety. I request the information in CSV format, or alternatively Microsoft Excel format, with one row per hereditament or account. This is a preference expressed under section 11 of the Freedom of Information Act. If substantially the same information is already publicly accessible, please provide the precise webpage and direct file location under section 21 rather than referring generally to the authority’s website. If you estimate that compliance would exceed the appropriate cost limit under section 12, please: 1. provide all information that can be supplied within the limit; 2. explain which fields cause the limit to be exceeded; 3. provide your estimate of the work associated with those fields; and 4. offer reasonable advice and assistance under section 16 as to how the request may be refined. Please confirm the date on which the database extract was produced.

Response

In accordance with section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), Oxford City Council (OCC) confirms that it holds information falling within the scope of your request.

OCC does not hold company registration numbers within its business rates records. OCC has considered your request as a request for a current structured extract of information from its non-domestic rating system. OCC is withholding the requested extract under section 31(1)(a) of the FOIA, which applies where disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.

The requested dataset would link identifiable businesses and ratepayers to particular premises and, where held, associated OCC information concerning liability, occupation status, reliefs, charges and account balances.

Disclosure under the FOIA is disclosure to the public at large. OCC is aware of business rates scams involving fraudsters purporting to act on behalf of the OCC or other official bodies, including scams concerning alleged overpayments and refunds, incorrect valuations and business rates arrears.

OCC considers that disclosure of a current, structured and authoritative dataset linking businesses to premises and associated business rates information would be likely to assist targeted and credible fraudulent approaches. It could enable information obtained from OCC's records to be combined with other publicly available information in order to impersonate a ratepayer or OCC, or otherwise make fraudulent communications appear more legitimate.

OCC has also considered whether the risk could be sufficiently reduced by removing individual fields, including information concerning empty properties, personal information or reference numbers. However, the risk does not arise from any single field in isolation. It arises from the combination of accurate, linked and current information within an authoritative OCC dataset.

This approach is supported by the Information Commissioner's decision IC-404624-T5Q8, dated 15 June 2026, which concerned a materially similar request for a current non-domestic business rates CSV. The Commissioner upheld section 31(1)(a) and concluded that partial disclosure would not adequately remove the risk of fraud.

OCC is not suggesting that every individual field within the dataset is confidential or unavailable from other sources. The prejudice arises from disclosure of the information as a current, structured and authoritative dataset linking the relevant information together.

Information identifying empty commercial properties is also withheld under section 31(1)(a), as disclosure would create additional risks associated with crime and fraud involving vacant premises. OCC recognises the public interest in transparency and accountability concerning the administration of business rates and in enabling analysis of commercial property and business rates information.

However, there is a strong public interest in preventing fraud, protecting businesses from impersonation and scams, protecting public funds and maintaining the integrity of OCC's business rates administration. Having considered these factors, OCC considers that the public interest in maintaining section 31(1)(a) outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the requested structured dataset.

In accordance with section 17 of the FOIA, this constitutes a refusal notice in respect of the information withheld.

In accordance with section 16 of the FOIA, which relates to the duty to provide reasonable advice and assistance, OCC advises that the Valuation Office Agency provides a publicly accessible service through which the rateable value of individual non-domestic properties in England and Wales can be searched via GOV.UK – Find a business rates valuation.

This provides access to property valuation information independently of OCC's business rates account records. OCC also has a historic Business Rates in Oxford open-data resource. However, the currently available data file on that resource dates from March 2018 and is therefore not being relied upon under section 21 as a substitute for the current extract requested.

The file identified for the purposes of this request is titled ‘Full NNDR list 010626’. A production date cannot be inferred solely from the file name.

This response provides OCC's recorded position in relation to the information requested and signposts information that remains publicly accessible.

If you disagree with any part of the response to your request, you are entitled to ask the Council for an internal review of the decision(s) made. You may do this by writing to the Monitoring Officer, by either email monitoringofficer@oxford.gov.uk – or by post to Monitoring Officer, Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1BX. After the result of the internal review, if you remain dissatisfied, you may ask the Information Commissioner to intervene on your behalf. You may do this by writing to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Documents

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