Dear Mr Haynes

TfL Ref: FOI-1622-1415

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5
January 2015 asking for information about audio recordings

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and TfL’s information access policy. Due to the
file sizes it will be necessary to put the files onto discs and post them
out. To enable us to process your request, could you please provide a
suitable postal address. Our direct email address can be found at the
following link where you can provide these details off the whatdotheyknow
website: [1]www.tfl.gov.uk/foi

A response will be provided to you by 2 February.

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

Yours sincerely

Lee Hill

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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Dear Mr Haynes

TfL Ref: FOI-1622-1415

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5
January 2015 asking for information about audio recordings

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can
confirm we do hold the information you require.

Please see the attached files containing the announcement scripts. A CD of
the iBus and London Overground recordings has been sent to the postal
address provided. The iBus announcements are recorded as fragments. As a
result, some announcements would not feature in full as the full
announcement would just be made up of two or more fragments that have
already been recorded. The nature of the way they were originally recorded
for the iBus rollout, was over a period of two years in 20 sessions.
Numerous CDs and folders were set up in this process and so unfortunately
they are not all held centrally. Some of the current iBus recordings may
be made up of fragments that are no longer used.

Please note that while access to this material will be provided to you
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you are not granted any rights
to any of the intellectual property that exists in it or granted any
permission to make secondary uses of it.

TfL owns all intellectual property (including, without limitation,
copyright) in the material supplied and will defend such rights.

If you wish to make any secondary use of the material provided, you must
first obtain the consent of TfL (which may be withheld) and, if consent is
granted, a fee may be charged, in accordance with the terms of the Reuse
of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.

Regarding the DLR audio announcements for the trains and stations, we do
not hold this information. The on train announcements for DLR are not held
in any central repository and are not ‘recorded ‘ as such. These are done
digitally as needed by typing them into a system, combining previously
typed announcements where necessary. It is therefore not possible to
provide an audio recording, as requested. The station announcements are
held on a central system but not in a form that allows them to be
distributed.

In accordance with the FOI Act, TfL is not obliged to supply the audio
files for London Underground’s Tube announcements as the information is
subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information
under section 43(2).

In this instance section 43(2) has been applied as disclosure of the
information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial
interests of TfL and/or Global Services Ltd. The recordings in question
were provided to London Underground from Global Services Ltd under a
signed contract which contained explicit conditions concerning disclosure
and distribution.

The contract specifies that the recordings are solely to be used for the
purpose for which they were created and for broadcast on the London
Underground network only. If TfL were to disclose these recordings in
response to an FOI request, it would constitute an actionable breach of
contract and would be likely to result in a valid legal claim against
London Underground or the license to use the recordings being withdrawn,
which would impose additional, unnecessary, costs. TfL wishes to protect
its commercial interests and ability to participate in future commercial
activity. The disclosure of this information would be to the detriment of
present and future business activities for both parties.

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 within public
authorities and the degree of public interest concerning London transport
announcements in light of the recent disclosure of iBus announcements.
However, in this instance this is outweighed by the damage that would be
done to TfL’s ability to use these recordings and any future contractual
negotiations that may take place regarding the London Underground
announcements.

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.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to
appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would
like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Lee Hill

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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Dear Mr Haynes

IRV-081-1415

Thank you for your email below.  I am writing in response to your request
for an internal review which has been conducted by individuals who were
not involved in your original request submitted on 5 January 2015.

Firstly, I would like to advise that under the provisions of the Freedom
of Information Act (FOI) a public authority legally has 20 working days to
respond to a request for information (section 10(1) of the Act).  As
advised in the acknowledgement sent to you on 5 January by Lee Hill, a
response would be provided to you by the 2 February 2015. 

Although where possible we will endeavour to provide requested information
as soon as we are able, we are not obliged under the legislation to supply
the requested information within a shorter time frame than 20 working days
and we do not prioritise one request over others received on the same
day.  I refer you to the following tribunal decision notice Keating v
Information Commissioners Office and Oxford City Council:
[1]http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DB...

I can advise that two disc's containing the announcements you have
requested have been posted to you today (2 February 2015) and a response
email advising you of this has also been sent to you by Lee Hill. 
Therefore in accordance with our obligations under the FOI Act, no breach
has occurred and we have answered within the required time period as
stated under the FOI Act.

Secondly, having reviewed all the correspondence held in relation to your
request, it was noted that you directly emailed the case officer on 8
January and 17 January (attached) enquiring when you would receive the
announcements you have requested.  We would ask that if you chose to
submit further FOI requests to TfL in the future to please be mindful that
the Freedom of Information team is a small one and receives circa 200 FOI
requests per four week period (approximately 2500 per year) all of which
need to be dealt with within the statutory 20 working day period. As
advised above we do not prioritise one request above another and
continuous enquires for 'updates' will not speed up a response to a
request and will only serve to divert a case officer's attention away from
their core role.

If you are dissatisfied with the internal review actions to date you can
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 also available on the ICO’s website
([2]www.ico.gov.uk).

Yours sincerely

Emma Flint

Information Access Adviser

Transport for London

[3][TfL request email]

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