FOI reference: FOI-2026-3672
You asked
I am writing to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the dataset "Location of pharmacies" and "Location of Dental Surgeries" referenced on the National Data Library/data.gov.uk website and published by the Office for National Statistics. The dataset is described as containing georeferenced locations of pharmacies and dental surgeries in England and notes that it has not yet been released by the publisher.
The datasets can be found here:
I note that both the Location of Pharmacies and Location of Dental Surgeries datasets are listed within the National Data Library catalogue. The pharmacy dataset is described as containing approximately 9,755 georeferenced pharmacy locations in England sourced from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would be grateful if you could provide:
- a copy of the underlying Location of Pharmacies dataset, including all fields held
- a copy of the underlying Location of Dental Surgeries dataset, including all fields held
- any metadata, data dictionaries, technical documentation or user guides associated with either dataset
- details of any limitations, exclusions or licensing restrictions applicable to the data
- information on whether more recent versions of these datasets exist and, if so, details on how they can be accessed
We said
Thank you for your request.
Both datasets mentioned in your request were published in 2006 by our Neighbourhood Statistics team. We are unable to provide a copy of the requested data, since the supporting service has ceased and we no longer hold these datasets.
Underlying data for the publications referenced were sourced from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), which became NHS Digital, and is now NHS England.
NHS England manage the Data Search and Export Service by Organisation Data Service (ODS), which may assist in finding the information you are looking for.
You may also be interested in our Access to local amenities in England and Wales: October 2024 bulletin, which includes information on the number of dental practices and the number of GP surgeries at Local Authority level in England and Wales.