No step-free access due to shortage of staff
Dear Transport for London,
Could you please provide me with the information how often
step-free access was not available at London Underground stations due to shortage of staff from 15 December 2012 to the present day?
Please specify the station, date and how long step-free access was not available. Thank you!
Yours faithfully,
Christiane Link
Dear Ms Link
Our Ref: FOI-1048-1314
Thank you for your e-mail received on 16 September 2013 asking for
information about step-free access at London Underground stations.
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 14 October 2013.
In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[1][TfL request email]
Dear Ms Link
Our Ref: FOI-1048-1314
Thank you for your e-mail received on 16 September 2013 asking for
information about step-free access at London Underground stations.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of
the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and TfL’s information access policy.
Because we are still compiling the information you have requested we will
not be able to resolve your request within the statutory 20 working day.
We intend to provide you with a full response by 11 November 2013. 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
Gemma Jacob
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[1][TfL request email]
Dear Transport for London,
Your Ref: FOI-1048-1314
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 'No step-free access due to shortage of staff'.
On the 14th September I sent you the following FOI request:
"Dear Transport for London,
Could you please provide me with the information how often
step-free access was not available at London Underground stations
due to shortage of staff from 15 December 2012 to the present day?
Please specify the station, date and how long step-free access was
not available. Thank you!"
First I was told I can expect a response by 14th October. In another message I was told, TfL will respond by 11th November. Your response to my request is long overdue now. May I kindly ask you respond to my request now? Thank you!
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...
Yours faithfully,
Christiane Link
Dear Ms Link
TfL Ref: IRV-073-1314
Thank you for your request for an internal review which was received by
Transport for London (TfL) on 14 November 2013.
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 12 December
2013. 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.
In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[2][TfL request email]
Dear Ms Link
Our Ref: FOI-1048-1314
Thank you for your e-mail received on 16 September 2013 asking for
information about step-free access at London Underground stations. Please
accept my apologies for the delay in my response.
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.
We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in improvements to the
accessibility of all modes of transport, including step-free access at a
further 26 Tube and Overground stations over the next eight years. We have
staff at all stations while trains are running, offer a turn-up-and-go
service for all customers and aim to ensure that the lift facilities are
always available when the station is open. All this, together with much
more about our commitment to opening up the transport network to all, is
set out in ‘[1]Your Accessible Transport Network which was published late
last year.
However, there are occasions when there is no staff member present with
the necessary training for the lift to be in service. In some
circumstances, for example where a member of staff is called away to
attend an incident elsewhere, the lift must be taken out of service. We
always advertise this immediately and work to restore service as quickly
as possible. We do not routinely publish data on such occurrences, so we
have compiled it from records of information displayed on the electronic
service update boards at stations. This has, unfortunately, taken us some
time to complete and we apologise for the length of time it has taken to
provide this.
Please see the requested information attached for 15 December 2012 to 14
September 2013.
The stations were not closed during these times indicated – the attached
spreadsheet shows the time that step-free access was not available. Most
of the time this occurs because of a local, isolated incident which can be
quickly resolved. Where a trend develops at any station, it is
investigated.
We regularly publish information on station closures and on lift
availability as part of our monthly performance reports and in the
performance data almanac – see
[2]http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/modesoft....
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable
to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to
appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[3][TfL request email]
Ref: IRV-073-1314
Date 13 January 2014
Dear Ms Link
Subject: Outcome of internal review
The internal review of Transport for London’s (TfL) handling of your
request for information about Step Free Access at London Underground
Stations has been completed. The review was carried out by an independent
Review Panel (‘the Panel’) consisting of individuals who were not involved
in the handling of your request.
On 14 September 2013 you requested information about how often step-free
access was not available at London Underground stations due to shortage of
staff.
It is clear that, in failing to provide you with a response within 20
working days, TfL has breached the requirements of section 10 of the FOI
Act. On behalf of TfL, please accept my apologies for this delay. The
delay arose because we had not completed work that was already underway to
collate and review the requested information at the time your request was
received. This work took longer to complete than was anticipated at the
time your request was received, and was still underway when we advised
that we would be able to respond by 11 November. I am sorry that the final
response was not sent until 14 November. I appreciate that this does not
excuse the breach of section 10 as there is no mechanism under the FOI Act
for extension of the deadline for responses, unless an exemption is being
considered and time is needed to consider the balance of the public
interest. However, we did feel that it would be appropriate to provide
some explanation of the delay that you experienced.
I apologise that you were not informed of the further delay to our
response at the time and had to send a follow up email on 13 November. We
will endeavour to respond promptly to any requests you may make in future.
I hope this information is of assistance. If you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of this internal review, 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 available on the ICO’s website (www.ico.gov.uk).
Yours sincerely
Simon Guild
Information Access Manager
[TfL request email]
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