Railway Byelaw 14 clarification statement

The request was refused by Department for Transport.

Dear Department for Transport,

I am informed that a draft "clarification statement" regarding enforcement of parking under the Railway Byelaws has been issued to interested bodies including the British Parking Association.

Please would you disclose it.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

R Bostock

Department for Transport

Dear R Bostock,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request for information which
has been allocated reference number P0015866.

A response will be issued to you in due course.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
Department for Transport
FOI Advice Team
Digital Service
Zone D/04
Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North
St Leonards on Sea
East Sussex
TN37 7GA

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Dear Department for Transport,

In case there is any misunderstanding, may I make it clear that the document requested is not necessarily entitled "clarification statement".

The subject-matter of the document is parking enforcement at station car parks, the application of Railway Byelaws 14 (1-4), and any role POPLA may have to play. It has been circulated within the last two months.

It may of course have a different title - not having seen it I wouldn't know.

Yours faithfully,

R Bostock

FOI-ADVICE-TEAM-DFT, Department for Transport

Dear R Bostock,

I have forwarded your email to our FOI case handler to consider.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
FOI Advice Team, Digital Service, Group Assurance and Digital Directorate

Department for Transport
D/04, Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North,
St Leonards on Sea, TN37 7GA

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Rail-franchise-correspondence, Department for Transport

2 Attachments

Dear R Bostock,

 

Please find attached a response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

[1][IMG]          Mr Michael Evans 
Senior Correspondence Manager, Briefing & Public
Affairs, Passenger Services 

4/15, Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR
[2]Follow us on twitter @transportgovuk 

 

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Dear Department for Transport,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Transport's handling of my FOI request 'Railway Byelaw 14 clarification statement'.

My request was refused in its entirety on the grounds that the document requested relates to the formulation or development of government policy.

This is not the case. I have seen correspondence from both the British Parking Association and the parking appeals service POPLA which clearly indicate that the long-awaited document in fact concerns guidance regarding the existing Railway Byelaws - ie as things currently stand - and is not about how the law might be formulated or developed.

I accept that there may be sections which should be blanked out. But a blanket refusal is not acceptable.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

R Bostock

FOI-ADVICE-TEAM-DFT, Department for Transport

Dear R Bostock,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of FOI response F0015866. We aim to issue a response on or before the 17th May 2018.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
FOI Advice Team, Digital Service, Group Assurance and Digital Directorate

Department for Transport
D/04, Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North,
St Leonards on Sea, TN37 7GA

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Rail-franchise-correspondence, Department for Transport

2 Attachments

Dear R Bostock,

 

Please find attached a response to your request for an Internal Review.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

[1][IMG]          Mr Michael Evans 
Senior Correspondence Manager, Briefing & Public
Affairs, Passenger Services 

4/15, Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR
[2]Follow us on twitter @transportgovuk 

 

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Philip Edwards left an annotation ()

Their refusal seems to be on thin legal grounds - there are no known proposals to alter the Railway Byelaws and so I don't see how there can be any justification to withhold the document under S35(1)(a). However, S22(1) may apply if there is a genuine intention to publish the guidance in the future.

I would appeal it to the ICO - though you may be in for a lengthy wait.