Dear Transport for London, A recent Mayoral answer (https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/1985) stated that "a feasibility study for step-free access at West Hampstead was completed in March 2019. It showed that step-free access is possible at this station." Please can this feasibility study be published if it is not publically available?

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TfL Ref 0580-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 8 July2020 asking for information about the feasibility study for step-free access at West Hampstead completed in March 2019.

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 hold the information you require.

Please find attached a redacted copy of the Feasibility Study as requested.

Please be aware that in accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply cost breakdowns, timescales for design and build and some of the site information which could affect pricing in the future as they are subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2) - commercial interests. Disclosure of this information would be likely to affect the commercial interests of TfL as well as our ability to achieve the best value for money for our customers and stakeholders.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, particularly where the expenditure of public money is concerned, but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we are able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.

In addition, and in accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply some of the information you have requested contained within the feasibility study as it is subject to statutory exemptions to the right of access to information, under Section 38(1)(b) of the Act.

In this instance the exemption has been applied to detailed drawings of future potential station layout plans as disclosure of this information could adversely affect the safety and security of TfL employees and members of the general public. Some of the documents which have been redacted show details of what the station layout currently looks like as this is not likely to change under the possible future proposals.

Disclosures made under the FOI Act are deemed to be a ‘disclosure to the world at large’ and whilst we make no suggestion that you would use this information for anything other than your own personal interests, it could be used by individuals who wish to cause harm or disruption to our customers, staff and London Underground network.

In light of the current threat levels in the UK the public interest in protecting individuals and infrastructure is very high and our upmost priority. Whilst we recognise that there are individual and personal interests in understanding the workings of the transport network, there is not the kind of wider public interest in the disclosure of this information that exists in disclosure of information. Disclosure of information could compromise security and safety preparedness on London Underground’s network and would place members of the public and TfL staff at risk by highlighting areas on the network and areas of the station which could be susceptible to being targeted.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance the public interest needs to be balanced with the potential threat to the safety of our customers and staff if this information on our infrastructure was publicly accessible. On balance we believe the public interest lies in ensuring that we maintain a safe and secure Tube network with the necessary safeguards to prevent access to key locations.

Finally in accordance with TfL’s obligations under Data Protection Legislation, some personal information has been withheld, as required by section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions which would make the processing ‘fair’. This is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to a public interest test.

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.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Officer

Information Governance

Transport For London

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