Freedom of Information Team
S1715
6 Floor
Central Mail Unit
Mr John Pulford
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
By email:
request-682769-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Email
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Web
www.gov.uk
Date: 7 September 2020
Our ref:
FOI2020/01440
Dear Mr Pulford
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your request, which was received on 8 August, for the following information:
“Could you please provide me, under the FOI act, data on percentile points of the income
distribution specifically for London from 1970 to the most recent tax year available? Or the
earliest year if there are insufficient records for 1970.
I am aware that this data is available at the national level but I would like to receive more
specific data just for individuals residing in Greater London.”
HM RC Response
We can confirm that we hold information that falls within the scope of your request.
However, we have assessed that to run all analysis to fully meet your request would exceed
the cost limit set out in the FOIA. The FOIA cost limit, which is specified in regulations,
equates to one person spending 3½ working days locating and extracting all of the
information within scope of the request.
Consequently, under s12(1) of the FOIA, HMRC would not be not obliged to comply with this
request.
The FOIA also requires that we explore how your request could be refined so that it could
be answered within the FOIA cost limit. The only way to refine this request is to reduce the
number of years in the analysis. Following previous FOI requests, we already hold the
percentile points from 1 to 99 for total taxable income before and after tax, for the London
region for a number of tax years (2007-08, 2012-13 and 2014-15 to 2017-18) – all are
included in the attached Excel file. We cannot produce more than a single y ear’s analysis
without exceeding the FOIA’s cost limit, so additionally, we have produced the information
for 2013-14 in response to your request, to give you a complete time series from 2012 -13 to
2017-18 (which is the latest available tax year). We cannot see any scope to narrow or
refine your request further so that it did not exceed the appropriate limit for the reasons
given.
Each table covers the standard London region as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial
Units for Statistics (NUTS). The NUTS classification is a hierarchical system for dividing up
the economic territory of the European Union for statistical purposes.
Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats.
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001
These estimates are based on information from the annua
l Survey of Personal Incomes
(SPI). Individual values have been rounded to three significant figures. Figures produced
from the SPI are statistical estimates and will be subject to sampling variation.
For details of the basis on which the SPI is conducted, including information about the
sampling process, please see the 2017-1
8 Personal Incomes Statistics supporting
documentation.
If you are not satisfied with this reply you may request a review within two months by
emailin
g xxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by writing to the address at the top right-hand side of
this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review you can
complain to the
Information Commissioner’s Office. Yours sincerely,
HM Revenue and Customs
OFFICIAL
2
