Our ref: FOI-0455-1718/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 26 May 2017 asking for information about TfL’s Freedom of Information requests.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. Unfortunately we do not hold the specific information you require.

Last year we logged 2658 FOI requests. The cost incurred in answering a request is not routinely recorded. However, in November 2015 we provided the following statement as part of our response to the Call for Evidence made by the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information:

“TfL recognises, and supports, the role that FOI plays in ensuring accountability and underpinning transparency. We view the pro-active publication of information, to meet the Publication Scheme requirements of the Act or the Local Government Transparency Code, as a complement to the scrutiny enabled by FOI requests rather than as a substitute for it. It is noteworthy that the devotion of considerable effort to greater pro-active publication of information, including through the adoption of a Transparency Strategy, has not resulted in a reduction in the number of FOI requests we receive. We accept that the cost imposed by answering FOI requests and by transparency is, largely, justified by the public’s right to know.

However, the cost of answering FOI requests is substantial – we estimate that, in staff time, it costs us around £1.1m annually to answer the requests we receive.

A large proportion of this time is spent on activities that, under Regulation 4(3) of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, are not relevant activities for the purpose of determining whether the cost limit applies to a request. In particular, a burden is caused by unfocused requests which scoop up large quantities of data simply by identifying broad criteria – e.g. ‘all emails on a particular topic exchanged between X and Y in 2015’. The time required to retrieve this information is relatively brief but the time spent assessing it to establish whether an exemption might apply and then redacting information as necessary is substantial.”

We do not understand what you mean by the second part of your sentence: ‘but what is the actual cost for per year or for the year TFL does not have any outstanding or pending requests.’, but hope the information provided above is useful.

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