You asked
I am emailing in regards to a request for the acquisition for data (absolute values) concerning the number of film production companies and turnover, distributed by size (turnover size band) between 1996-2008.
You have supplied the British Film Institute (BFI) with the information post-2008 in this format, and in the 2009 statistical year book they 1) present it as a percentage and 2) show the change in comparison between 1996 and 2008, which differs from the future statistical year books, 2010-2015.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry. You requested data on film production companies between 1996 and 2008 and want to compare this with data produced for a specific bespoke request which was produced for 2008 onwards. Bespoke requests can be produced via our adhoc data service. Data can only be produced back as far as 2004. We would need to speak to you to find out the exact details of this request and also to discuss changes that have occurred with the data over time, such as a change to the Standard Industrial Classification coding (SIC). This means that data produced before and after 2008 are not directly comparable. Please note that any data that we produce will be rounded in order to protect confidentiality, we cannot supply absolute values.
Bespoke data requests can be chargeable. Details of costs can be found on the right hand side of the following link under business register charge rates:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/statistics/publicationscheme
If you would like a quote for the work or want to discuss the request further please contact idbrdas@ons.gov.uk
As this information is already available to you via this route we consider that S21(1) applies to this request and the information does not have to be supplied under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. S21(1) is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest test needs to be applied.