Cyclist deaths and corporate manslaughter

The request was refused by Transport for London.

Dear Transport for London,

I should be grateful for copies of all correspondence, email, letters, instant messages, meeting minutes, reports, spreadsheets, advice and other records held by the Transport for London and its subsidiary and component bodies including correspondence with the Mayor's office, the police service, the coroner and the GLA that mention possible liability for corporate manslaughter or other liability such as under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.

This request covers the period 1 October 2011 to 1 January 2012 and focuses upon corporate manslaughter of cyclists but would include general opinions on corporate manslaughter liability within that period.

The possible exposure of TfL to prosecution for corporate manslaughter was first raised in an article i wrote on 14 October about the death of a cyclist at a junction in Kings Cross
http://kingscrossenvironment.com/2011/10...

A TfL spokesman was on BBC London news on 18 October. TfL have recently agreed to a review of the Kings Cross junction but does not mention whether the actions they take are to avoid or address potential CM liability.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/ne...

There will no doubt be internal documents that discuss the corporate manslaughter issue.

This request covers death of people - there is the highest possible public interest in transparency and understanding what is going on. I cannot conceive of a defence that TfL might mount for not publishing information it might hold that would be supported by the ICO, including formation of policy and legal privelege defences. I am mindful of recent rulings by the ICO that personal email and messaging services used in a work capacity (such as personal hotmail, gmail etc accounts) are covered by FOI.

My preferred format to receive this information is by electronic means.

If one part of this request can be answered sooner than others, please send that information first followed by any subsequent data.

If you seek to reject this request on procedural means i shall simply resubmit the request amended slightly and/or seek an internal review, which i shall then take the the ICO on appeal.

If you need any clarification of this request please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature have already been asked could you please include your responses to those requests.

Yours faithfully,

william perrin

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Mr Perrin

 

TfL Ref:  FOI-1039-1112

 

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3
January 2012 asking for information about cyclist deaths and corporate
manslaughter.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and TfL’s information access policy. 

 

A response will be provided to you by 1 February 2012.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team

IACT, General Counsel

Transport for London

[1][TfL request email]

 

 

 

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FOI, Transport for London

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Perrin

TfL Ref: FOI-1039-1112

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3 January 2012 asking for information about cyclist deaths and corporate manslaughter.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and TfL’s information access policy.

We are currently still in the process of considering your request, and unfortunately we will not be able to respond within the statutory 20 working days.

We intend to provide you with a full response by 28 February 2012. Please accept my apologies for this delay.

In the meantime, if you have any queries relating to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt
FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team | Transport for London
Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL
[TfL request email]

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Dear Transport for London,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Transport for London's handling of my FOI request 'Cyclist deaths and corporate manslaughter'.

As of 29 February I do not have a response. Tfl is in gross breach of its duty under S10 of the FOIA to provide a reply within 20 working days.

This is matter of exceptional public interest - the safety of human life. There is no higher public interest.

TfL without providing any reason has not met its statutory obligations in timeliness of response. This is unreasonable and unjustifiable. TfL submitted a partial response limited to a couple of references in briefing for a BBC News broadcast and a note that you were still considering a response and that would be delayed until 28 February.

I am aware that this matter might prove to be politically embarrassing to TfL but my rights in law to this information outweigh that.

It is possible that TfL is debating internally whether it should release legal advice on corporate manslaughter. In considering this appeal i suggest that you split the issue into two - unreleased information that does not contain legal advice and that which does and release the former immediately.

I also suggest that TfL has already released legal advice on the matter in its partial reply on media briefing where you provide a line from legal advisors. This sets a strong precedent that legal advice should be released in this case. Again, when weighing the public interest I should stress that safety of human life is the highest possible public interest.

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

Yours faithfully,

william perrin

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Mr Perrin

 

TfL Ref:  IRV-125-1112

 

Thank you for your request for an internal review which was received by
Transport for London (TfL) on 29 February 2012.

 

You have stated that you are dissatisfied with the handling of your
request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

 

The review will be conducted by an internal review panel in accordance
with TfL’s Internal Review Procedure, which is available via the following
URL:

 

[1]http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/f...

 

Every effort will be made to provide you with a response by 29 March 2012.
However, if the review will not be completed by this date, we will contact
you and notify you of the revised response date as soon as possible.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team | Transport for London

Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

[2][TfL request email]

 

 

 

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Sloane Peter, Transport for London

4 April 2012

 

Our reference: IRV-125-1112

 

Dear Mr Perrin

 

I am contacting you further to your request for an internal review of the
handling of your request for information held by Transport for London
(TfL) concerning possible liability for corporate manslaughter.

 

As discussed, I can confirm that TfL does hold information that falls
within your request and that this is in the process of being assessed for
release, which is the cause of the delay. However, I am advised that TfL
will not be in a position to provide this information until the end of the
week commencing 16 April. Unfortunately there is also no prospect of
providing a partial response at this point. I am very sorry about the
delay and any inconvenience and frustration that this may cause.

 

In view of this, it is clear that, in failing to provide you with a
response within 20 working days, TfL is in breach of section 10 of the
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

 

On behalf of TfL, please accept my apologies for the shortcomings in the
handling of your request. Please note that, in view of the ongoing failure
to provide you with a response, we do not consider that this necessarily
represents the end of the internal review process for your request. Once
the response has been provided, you may still request a further internal
review if you are not satisfied with the quality of the response. We
consider that it would not be fair to you to deny the opportunity to
review the quality of the response simply because you had already
exercised your right to a review of TfL’s failure to provide a timely
response.  

 

In addition, it is of course open to you at this time to refer the matter
to the independent authority responsible for enforcing the Freedom of
Information Act, at the following address:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

 

A complaint form is available on the ICO’s website ([1]www.ico.gov.uk).

 

Yours sincerely

 

Peter Sloane

 

Peter Sloane | Senior Information Governance Adviser (Enforcement and
Complaints)

Information Governance | General Counsel | Transport for London

Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

T: 020 7126 4912 | E: [2][email address]

 

TfL has recently adopted an ‘information security classification scheme’
to help protect its information assets. If you work for TfL or one of its
subsidiaries and want to find out how this affects you, see the new
[3]Quick Guide or visit [4]Source for more information.

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://source.tfl/pdfs/IA_QG1_Informatio...
4. http://source.tfl/OurCompany/Governance/...

FOI, Transport for London

22 Attachments

Dear Mr Perrin

 

TfL Ref:  FOI-1039-1112

 

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3
January 2012 asking for information about cyclist deaths and corporate
manslaughter.  Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying.

 

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and TfL’s information access policy. I can confirm
that TfL does hold the information you require. You asked for:

 

Copies of correspondence, email, letters, instant messages, meeting
minutes, reports, spreadsheets, advice and other records held by the
Transport for London and its subsidiary and component bodies including
correspondence with the Mayor's office, the police service, the coroner
and the GLA that mention possible liability for corporate manslaughter or
other liability such as under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and
Corporate Homicide Act.’

 

Please find attached copies of documents which are held by TfL and
relevant to your request.

 

However TfL is not obliged to supply some of the information held as it is
subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information,
under Section 42(1) of the FOI Act.  In this instance Section 42(1) has
been applied as the information you have requested is covered by legal
professional privilege (LPP). 

 

LPP is a common law concept that protects the confidentiality of most
communications between a legally qualified adviser and client. The
information you have requested is covered by LPP and the adverse affect of
disclosure would arise from the inhibiting effect it would have on TfL
seeking and obtaining frank legal advice. The risk of disclosure of legal
advice would detract from the responsibility TfL has to analyse and
address legal risks and issues.

 

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public
interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned.  TfL
recognises the need for openness and transparency by public authorities,
and that there may be a particular public interest in enabling you, and
the wider public, to understand the basis for TfL’s decision making on
this issue. However, there is a very strong element of public interest
inbuilt into the concept of LPP and this has long been recognised, by the
Information Commissioner, the Information Tribunal and the courts, and it
reflects the importance of legal advice being sought, and given, in
confidence as a fundamental condition on which the administration of
justice rests. In view of that, TfL considers that the public interest
favours the use of this exemption in relation to the information you have
requested.

 

Additionally in accordance with TfL’s obligations under the Data
Protection Act 1998 (DPA) any personal data has been removed, as required
by section 40(2) of the FOI Act. This is because disclosure of this
personal data would be a breach of the DPA, specifically the first
principle of the DPA which requires all processing of personal data to be
fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal
information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed
and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions of Schedule 2 of the Data
Protection Act which would make the processing ‘fair’.

 

Please note that the police investigation into the Kings Cross incident
you refer to is still ongoing and we continue to assist the police with
their enquiries.

 

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable
to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached
information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team | Transport for London

Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

[1][TfL request email]

 

 

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