Network Rail
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx Freedom of Information
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN
T 01908 782405
E xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
14th April 2016
Dear Mr Stott
Information request
Reference number: FOI2016/00186
Thank you for your email of 17th February 2016. You requested the following
information:
Please supply an electronic copy of the current or latest version of each of the
following manuals (or their successors by other or similar names):
(1) "Performance Manual"
(2) "Performance Measurement Manual"
(3) "Performance Measurement Process Manual"
I have processed your request under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA)
.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you requested.
To explain a little further, the “Performance Manual” referred to in part one of your
requests has two parts:
a) Performance improvement manual;
b) Performance measurement process (referred to in part three of your request).
These two documents read in combination are what we term our performance
manual.
The second part of your request refers to a ‘Performance Measurement Manual’ and
we do not hold any information within scope of this aspect of your request, simply
because we do not hold any documents referred to by this appellation.
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk
Please find attached two documents respectively labelled
“Performance
improvement process.pdf and
“Performance measurement process.pdf”. You will note that we have redacted parts of these documents. This is because
providing them without redaction would have entailed releasing personal information
(exempt under s.40(2) of the FOIA) and information that would be prejudicial to the
commercial interests of us and our business partners (exempt under s.43(2) of the
FOIA).
I will explain the rationale for this decision further.
Section 40(2) – Personal Information
We have redacted the files to remove the personal information of identifiable
individuals. Section 40(2) of the FOIA allows us to withhold this type of information
if its disclosure would contravene one or more of the data protection principles of
the Data Protection Act 1998.
The first data protection principle states that personal information must be handled
fairly and lawfully. In our view the disclosure of the information that you have
requested would be unfair to the individuals concerned. This is because it
constitutes the personal information of junior staff members and the individuals
concerned would have had no expectation that such information would be
disclosed.
In determining what is fair, we also need to balance the rights of the individuals with
the legitimate interests in disclosure of the information. We recognise the legitimate
interest in being accountable to the public and that releasing documents without
redaction allows for greater accountability. However, it is our view that accountability
in this instance applies to Network Rail as an organisation rather than the
individuals in question. In simple terms these individuals were doing a job for which
Network Rail is ultimately accountable. The effect of this is that any interest in
accountability is met by the documents being provided in their redacted form.
Taking all of this into account and in the absence of any overriding legitimate
interest in the release of this information under FOIA, we consider that the
disclosure of the information you have requested would be unfair and breach the
first data protection principle.
Section 43(2) – Prejudice to commercial interests
Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides an exemption for information, the disclosure of
which would or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person.
Our decision is that disclosure of some of the information you have requested would
be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Network Rail and the Train and
Freight operating companies as it provides detailed financial calculations involved in
the performance compensation regime.
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk
Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption. This means that we are required to consider
whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in maintaining
the exemption.
Factors in favour of disclosure
There is always a general presumption in favour of disclosure in the absence of any
overriding factors as this is likely to make public authorities, like Network Rail, more
open and accountable organisations.
In this particular instance disclosure of the requested information would permit
greater scrutiny of a large public authority’s spending of public money and
encourage greater accountability.
Factors against disclosure
Providing the requested information in full would create a partial and potentially
misleading, an indeed outdated, picture of compensation payments.
The train and freight operating companies would have had a legitimate expectation
that the requested material would be treated by us as confidential. It is in the public
interest to, wherever reasonably possible, retain and encourage intra-business trust.
This is particularly so in relation to commercial interactions with large public
authorities. In our case, undermining this trust and confidence would not only
damage our relationship with any given company which was disadvantaged by
disclosure but also with all other similar companies who would be less inclined to
share information and engage positively with us.
Having considered both sides of the argument, we have concluded that the specific,
tangible and potentially far reaching harm (to both Network Rail and our partners)
that would be likely to stem from disclosure outweighs the more general of
disclosure, particularly since the public benefit from providing a limited and
misleading picture is likely to be extremely slight. As a result we do not intend to
disclose any information in this document that contains financial calculations
regarding compensation payments.
If you have any enquiries about this response, please contact me in the first instance
a
t xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx or on 01908 782405. Details of your appeal rights are
below.
Please remember to quote the reference number at the top of this letter in all future
communications.
Yours sincerely
Joanne West
Information Officer
Appeal Rights
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk
If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled and wish to make a
complaint or request a review of our decision, please write to the FOI Compliance
and Appeals Manager at Network Rail, Freedom of Information, The Quadrant,
Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, MK9 1EN, or by email at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. Your
request must be submitted within 40 working days of receipt of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk