Email responses to Chiswick High Road consultation survey
Request ID: FOI-0549-2324 Date published: 15 June 2023
You asked
Follow-up to FOI-0264-2324: Many thanks for your response to my FOI enquiry, and for your explanation regarding the constraints on time & budget for each query that you receive.
I do take your point that some of the information I have requested may be included in the final consultation report (in particular I was interested to hear that a map of respondents’ postcodes will form part of that report).
However, I think it is unlikely that the report will document the number of emails which have been sent as a result of lobbying campaigns by special interest groups. That information should be in the public domain.
Therefore I would like to narrow the scope of my enquiry as you have suggested - please see below:
Please could you provide a count of the number of responses sent to the email address [email protected] in relation to the recent TfL consultation on "Chiswick High Road walking and cycling changes".
The count should include:
(1) The total number of email responses submitted in relation to the Chiswick High Road consultation between 3rd October 2022 and 3rd April 2023 (inclusive).
You have kindly supplied this information in your reply - 843 emails in total.
(2) The number of email responses matching the criteria in point (1) above which ALSO used the following subject line:
"Chiswick High Road consultation response"
(3) The number of email responses matching the criteria in point (1) above which also used ANY of the following phrases within the text of the response:
"What impact has the scheme had on the area"
"If you think the experimental scheme should be changed, please tell us"
"Tell us how you primarily travel in the area"
"Tell us who you are responding as"
Hopefully the simplified query will be achievable within the constraints of 18 hours’ work; a straightforward search for the relevant key-phrases in the subject line / body copy of the emails should yield the relevant counts.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0549-2324
Thank you for your further request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23rd May 2023 asking for information about the Chiswick High Road consultation.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“I would like to narrow the scope of my enquiry as you have suggested - please see below:
Please could you provide a count of the number of responses sent to the email address [email protected] in relation to the recent TfL consultation on "Chiswick High Road walking and cycling changes".
The count should include:
(1) The total number of email responses submitted in relation to the Chiswick High Road consultation between 3rd October 2022 and 3rd April 2023 (inclusive).
You have kindly supplied this information in your reply - 843 emails in total.
(2) The number of email responses matching the criteria in point (1) above which ALSO used the following subject line: "Chiswick High Road consultation response" (3) The number of email responses matching the criteria in point (1) above which also used ANY of the following phrases within the text of the response: "What impact has the scheme had on the area" "If you think the experimental scheme should be changed, please tell us" "Tell us how you primarily travel in the area" "Tell us who you are responding as"”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, I am afraid that it remains the case that to answer your questions would require us to review each email response individually, and that the section 12 costs exemption cited in our previous response applies again for the same reasons. That said, I note that you state in your email below that you are interested in, “...the number of emails which have been sent as a result of lobbying campaigns by special interest groups”. TfL has published a range of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Have Your Say pages of our website, including how we handle campaign style responses (see here: FAQs | How to get involved | Have Your Say Transport for London (tfl.gov.uk) - How do you manage campaign style responses?). We always make a distinction in our Consultation Reports between responses sent by individuals as compared to those sent as part of a campaign. The Consultation Report we will publish to explain the outcomes of the Chiswick High Road consultation will make clear if we have received any ‘campaign’ style responses, the number of responses of this type and the issues raised in those emails. This would include any responses which we consider to be part of a campaign which do not include the precise subject line / phrases that you reference in your request.
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
