FOI reference: FOI-2024-2256
You asked
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request information from Office of National Statistics.
I refer to your August 2024 'India: Trade and Investment Factsheet' publication and I request further information in relation to the outward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) by requesting the following information:
- A detailed breakdown of all inward FDI from Indian registered companies in the UK in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024.
- A list of industries/sectors in which the inward FDI from India registered companies in the UK is taking place in, with monetary values of this FDI.
- A list of all locations in which the inward FDI is taking place in, with monetary values of this FDI.
- A breakdown of how this inward FDI is taking place such as by investment into current UK businesses or brand-new entities registered.
We said
Thank you for your request.
The Factsheet referenced in your request was produced and published by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which appears to have used data from the most recent version of the following ONS publication: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies: 2021.
The data requested in your first question will be made available in future updates of this publication. Data for 2022 will be published 8 October 2024 and data for 2023 will be published on 11 December 2024. Data for 2024 has not yet been collected, so is not currently held.
As such, the information requested in Q1 for 2022 and 2023 is exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), as we have the intention to publish the information in the future. As a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.
The data requested in questions 2, 3, and 4 is not held and would require us to create new information using statistical expertise. As public authorities are not obliged to create new information to answer FOI requests, this information is not accessible via FOIA.
However, we may be able to create the requested information, or something similar, via our bespoke services route. Such services are subject to disclosure controls, legal frameworks, resources, and an agreement of costs in line with the ONS Charging Policy. Please contact FDI@ons.gov.uk to discuss this further.