You asked

Please could you release any reports/documents held regarding use of mobile phone data in collecting statistics, that has been produced in either 2016 or 2017?

I am particularly looking for any privacy assessments, project plans or documents outlining what exact data will be shared and how it is stored.

We said

The mobile phone data that has been used in our research is aggregated data, representing estimates of the total number of commuters that live in one area and work in another area. We have not received any estimate less than 15. As this form of data does not constitute personal data there has been no legal requirement to conduct a privacy impact assessment.

Our investigation into the use of mobile phone data within official statistics has been published through some updates on the Big Data Project pages at https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/programmesandprojects/theonsbigdataproject.

We enclose the most recent versions of any documents produced during 2016 or 2017 regarding the use of mobile phone data within official statistics, including those used for the public tender to access the aggregated data used in this study.

Some personal information has been withheld under s.40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Some information has also been withheld under s.43(2) of FOIA because we believe that it would prejudice the commercial interests of the companies involved, as provision of the information may influence the decisions of customers. This exemption requires the application of a the public interest test. We recognise that the arguments in favour of disclosure are transparency and accountability. In this instance, we believe that the arguments for disclosure are outweighed by the arguments for withholding the information. The disclosure of this information would impact on our ability to have effective discussions with third party companies and important stakeholders with regards to the provision of data.

In addition, some information has been withheld under s.44(1) of FOIA. Under s.39 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, personal information held by us in relation to the exercise of any of our functions (including information that identifies a body corporate), must not be disclosed. Because the release of the information you have requested is prohibited by law, s.44(1) of FOIA applies.

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