Unpaid congestion charge FoI
Request ID: FOI-0142-1920
Date published: 15 May 2019
You asked
Dear Freedom of Information Officer,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act. I am looking for information about unpaid congestion charge bills by foreign embassies and high commissions. Please could you provide me with the following:
1. Please could you provide me with a list of outstanding congestion charge debt owned by foreign embassies and high commissions since 2003 up to April 2019. Please could you break this information down year-by-year (providing the exact amount each year owned by each embassy/high commission) and give totals. Please could you provide the data in excel format.
2. Please could you provide me with a list of embassies/high commissions which have paid congestion charge bills between 2003 up to April 2019. Please could you break this information down year-by-year (providing the exact amount paid by each embassy/high commission) and give totals. Please could you provide the data in excel format.
I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-0142-1920/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 12 April 2019 asking for information about unpaid congestion charge bills by foreign embassies and high commissions.
We are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that foreign diplomats are not exempt from paying it. We continue to pursue all unpaid Congestion Charge fees and related penalty charge notices. We have written to the Foreign Secretary to ask him to take up the matter with the relevant embassies and the International Court of Justice.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
Please find attached spreadsheets showing the annual breakdown of each embassy’s outstanding debt in relation to Congestion Charging PCNs, the value of payments received for PCNS as far back as we hold the data, and the number of charges paid by each embassy.
Please note: data provided is from 17 February 2003 to 31 March 2019.
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
General Counsel
Transport for London
Attachments
Back to top
