Dear Josh Rubio

Our ref: FOI-0817-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13
August 2020 asking for copies of announcements.

The impact of current circumstances on TfL’s resources means we are not
able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make
a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the
attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In
any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the
current situation and so you may wish to reconsider the timing of this
request. Please notify us as soon as possible if you would like to
withdraw your request at the current time.

Should you wish to proceed with the request we will aim to issue a
response by 11 September 2020 in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. We publish a
substantial range of information on our website on subjects including
operational performance, contracts, expenditure, journey data, governance
and our financial performance. This includes data which is frequently
asked for in FOI requests or other public queries. Please check
[1]http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transpar... to see if this helps you.

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[2]www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send
a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

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

General Counsel

Transport for London

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transpar...
2. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
3. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/

Dear Josh Rubio

Our ref: FOI-0817-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13
August 2020 asking for copies of announcements.

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

However, we are refusing your request under section 14(1) of the Act. We
consider that providing the requested information would place an
unreasonable burden on us at this time. As you will be aware, it is
essential for London, and in particular for all critical workers, that we
continue to provide a safe transport network that enables them to make the
journeys they need to and our staff are working hard to support them and
protect all Londoners. We consider that answering this request would
represent a disproportionate effort and would require the redirection of
limited specialist resources and the attention of staff away from their
core functions who could be supporting other essential activity.

We do wish to clarify that whilst we consider that your request falls
under section 14(1) of the FOI Act, this does not reflect a conclusion
that it has been your intention to place an undue burden on our resources.

On the specific application of section 14(1) we have been steered by the
ICO guidance on the use of that exemption that can be found on its website
here:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/1198/dealing-wi...

To be clear, it is the current context in which the request has been made
that is central to our decision to apply the exemption set out in section
14(1) in response to your request.

We have responded to several hundred requests for audio recordings over
many years. However, due to alternative working arrangements aligned with
the Government’s measures to tackle the coronavirus, the FOI Case
Management Team do not currently have access to the necessary hardware
required to create CDs of audio announcements in response to FOI requests
and so we are unable to process these requests remotely.

Additionally, whilst we have also explored alternative technological
solutions, it is an unavoidable consequence that processing requests of
this nature would require critical employees to be diverted from their
operational responsibilities and, in the current circumstances, we
consider that our priority must remain on providing and maintaining an
effective transport system to essential workers across the capital and
that our limited resources are utilised as effectively as possible to
ensure that happens. Therefore we are refusing your request under s14 of
the FOI Act.

In addition to the exemption above we are unable to provide you with
Bakerloo line announcements as these recordings were provided to London
Underground under a signed contracts which contained explicit conditions
concerning disclosure and distribution, and further exemptions therefore
also apply.

The impact of current circumstances on TfL’s resources means we are not
able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make
a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the
attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In
any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the
current situation.

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

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/1198/dealing-wi...
2. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/