List of Staff Networks, funding, events 2019-20-2022-23 (FOI241227)

Request for information - Ref No: FOI241227

Request

We received your request on 13 March 2024.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

A copy of your request is set out in the extract below:

“Please include the following information for the following years, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23:

1. A list of all the staff networks at the organisation
2. Whether each network receives internal funding and, if so, how much (please express annually for the last four financial years)
3. How much FTE equivalent staff time each network is entitled to. For example, a staff network may have a chair who’s entitled to spend 10% of their working hours devoted to the network (please express annually for the last three financial years)

A list of events that each network has held in this financial year so far (April to the present day), including the title of the event, information on any guest speakers and the time of the event”

Our response

I confirm that Ordnance Survey does hold some of the information you have requested. Where the information is not held this is noted.

Taking each request in turn, I confirm the following:

1. A list of all the staff networks at the organisation

• Women+ development
• Ethnic minorities
• LGBT+
• Neurodiversity
• Religion and belief
• Accessibility

2. Whether each network receives internal funding and, if so, how much (please express annually for the last four financial years)

We do not have internal funding allocated to each specific network. Therefore, we do not hold the requested information.

However, under the duty to provide advice and assistance in accordance with section 16 of the FOIA, I can confirm that a fee of £2,000 was paid for the Women + Development’s session on 6 March 2024.

In addition, we have a membership to the Inclusive Employers Network which allows us to access best practice content and learning material for all the staff networks, the annual fee for which is £5,000. The content and material Staff Networks use are primarily sourced from here.

3. How much FTE equivalent staff time each network is entitled to. For example, a staff network may have a chair who’s entitled to spend 10% of their working hours devoted to the network (please express annually for the last three financial years)

All networks are run by volunteers. There is no set allocation of time.

4. A list of events that each network has held in this financial year so far (April to the present day), including the title of the event, information on any guest speakers and the time of the event

Network	Date of Event	Title	Speaker
Women + Development	13 Sep 2023 1100-1200	Endometriosis awareness event	Representative from Endometriosis South Coast. Name of speaker exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA. See below for further details.
	14 Sep 2023 1210-1250 (lunchtime)	Yoga	No speaker. Via Teams.
	26 Sep 2023 1030-1130	Discussing women and neurodiversity	No speaker. Network members via Teams.
	28 Sep 2023 1200-1255 (lunchtime)	QA panel and networking lunch	Head of software services propositions, production unit lead, senior data scientist talking about their career journeys. Names of speakers exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA. See below for further details.
	4 Mar 2024 1130-1200	Introduction to international women’s day	Director Steve Showell and network leads. Name of network leads exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA. See below for further details.
	5 Mar 2024 1130-1230	Gender pay gap and network action plan	OS HR representative. Name of speaker exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA. See below for further details.
	6 Mar 2024 1500-1630	The future of work and the role of all genders- exploring barriers opportunities and practical strategies to dismantle obstacles for greater inclusion	Guest speaker from T-minus via Zoom. Name of speaker exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) FOIA. See below for further details.
	7 Mar 2024 1100-1130	Spotlight on women in Tech apprenticeships	Apprenticeship training provider QA.com via Teams
	20 Mar 2024 1400-1530	Visible role model panel	OS Non-Executive Directors, Lynn Mawdsley and Fiona Strens, talk about their career highlights - in person event.
Ethnic minorities	1 Jun 2023	30 years on Stephen Lawrence and the effect on the black community	Inclusive employers article shared internally
	27 Jun 2023	Multilingualism	BBC article shared internally
	12 Jul 2023	Black geographers newsletter	Article shared internally
	20 Sep 2023	Guardian article CPRE research racial disparity around access to nature and green space	Article shared with network
	6-17 Oct 2023	Black History month	An OS employee was named as one of 51 black women in UK who has impacted the Tech industry – articles were shared and links to official black history website and inclusive employers intro guide to BHM
	27 Jan 2024	Holocaust Memorial Day	Article shared internally
	10 Feb 2024	Lunar/Chinese New Year	Article and personal experience shared internally
LGBT+	26 Aug 2023	Southampton Pride	Awareness
	2 Nov 2023	New transitioning policy- awareness	Guidance produced and published internally
	6 Nov 2023 1300	LGBTQ+ security clearance and vetting event civil service	Teams meeting
	20 Nov 2023	Transgender day of remembrance	Article shared with network
	24 Jan 2024 1200-1300	Bimonthly lunchtime social	Teams meeting
	20 Feb 2024 1400-1500	FFLAG speaking event	FFLAG ambassadors x 2 charity and voluntary organisation
	9 & 16 Feb 2024	LGBT History month	Articles shared with network
	Feb 2024 1200-1300 (lunchtime)	LGBT Film club	Teams meeting at lunchtime to discuss film
Neurodiversity	27 Feb 2024	Neurodiversity celebration week 18-22 March	Virtual events to sign up for
	15 Mar 2024	Autism acceptance week 2 to 8 April	Shared video from Chris Packham
Religion and belief	Nov/Dec 2023	Celebrating Hanukkah	Awareness article
	Oct/Nov 2023	Celebrating Diwali	Awareness articles
	Mar-Apr 2024	Ramadan	Awareness article on network site
Accessibility	1 Feb 2024	Time to talk day	Link to mental health resources and support
	7 Mar 2024	New quiet working area	Meeting free zone- shared

Section 40(2) (Personal information)

The information relating to the names of external guest speakers and OS employees is held by Ordnance Survey but is exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information constitutes personal data.

Section 40(2) provides that personal data can be withheld if disclosure of this information would breach any of the data protection principles contained in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.

In this case disclosure of the names of the external guest speakers and OS employees would contravene the first data protection principle, which provides that personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, section 40(2) and (3) of the FOIA therefore apply.

In reaching this decision, we have particularly considered:

• the reasonable expectations of the individuals. Ordnance Survey considered that none of the individuals would have a reasonable expectation that their personal data would be disclosed;
• the consequences of disclosure; and
• any legitimate public interest in disclosure.

Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the public interest test.

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
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• 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)

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