Freedom of Information Request – Housing Register and Allocations Statistics 2020/21–2025/26
Case reference FOI2026/00900
Received 11 August 2026
Published 9 September 2026
Request
I hope this email finds you well. I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and would like to request anonymised, aggregate statistical information relating to Oxford City Council’s housing register and social housing lettings/allocations for each financial year from 2023/24 to 2025/26. I would be grateful for the following information for each financial year: 1. Housing register The number of households on the housing register, broken down by: * Ethnicity * Age * Disability * Sex/gender * Household composition * Priority band 2. Social housing lettings/allocations The number of social housing lettings or allocations made, broken down by the same characteristics: * Ethnicity * Age * Disability * Sex/gender * Household composition * Priority band I am requesting aggregate and anonymised statistical information only and am not seeking any personally identifiable information.
Response
The information is not held in the format requested. The information available is as follows:
The number of households on the housing waiting list was:
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3,862 as of September 2025
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3,970 as of May 2026
Section 40(2) – Personal information
The requested breakdowns by ethnicity, age, disability, sex, gender, household composition and priority band are withheld under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Providing these breakdowns would create a risk that individuals could be identified or singled out, particularly when considered alongside other information that may already be publicly available or known to others.
The information concerns individuals accessing the Council’s housing services and includes sensitive personal characteristics. Ethnicity and information concerning disability constitute special category personal data and are afforded additional protection under data protection legislation.
Disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act is disclosure to the public at large. The Council considers that releasing the information at the level of detail requested would be unfair to the individuals concerned and would create an unjustified intrusion into their privacy.
The Council has not identified a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR that would justify disclosure of this personal data to the public. In relation to special category personal data, the requirements of Article 9 would also need to be satisfied.
Disclosure of the information would therefore contravene the data protection principles. Accordingly, the information is exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Documents
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