You asked:
I would like to request data for individuals in the UK who earn over £80,000 per year.
We said:
Thank you for your request. The best source for this information is our Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is based on a 1% sample of jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs' Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records and is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. ASHE data are published on our website at the following link:
Data for individuals constitutes personal information and is therefore exempt under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. However it may be possible for you to apply for access to the ASHE microdata if you become accredited as an Approved Researcher. The criteria for accreditation is set out at the following link, along with an application form:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/statistics/requestingstatistics/approvedresearcherscheme
If you do not meet the accreditation criteria then, depending on the nature of your request, we may be able to run an ad hoc tabulation for you for a fee. As ASHE information is already available to you via this route we consider that Section 21(1) applies and the information does not have to be supplied under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. Section 21(1) is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest test needs to be applied.
The ASHE charge rates are published at the following link (under the heading 'Related downloads' on the right-hand side of the page):
https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/statistics/publicationscheme
If you decide that you would like to use this service please send an email specifying your request to earnings@ons.gov.uk.