Request ID: FOI-1225-2122 Date published: 06 October 2021
You asked
On 2nd September 2021 you released an SHE Bulletin regarding claims that razor blades had been attached to the rear of posters in London. This was widely circulated in the media.
In this SHE Bulletin, there is a photo of a razor blade and a yellow COVID poster. It would appear that these photos were simply taken from another story dated 29th July 2021, and do not refer directly to this event, which you claim via the RMT, occurred in London. The incident on 29th July 2021 occurred in Wales, according to the claimant (it was not reported to the police).
I am therefore lead to believe that the photos in this SHE bulletin, and the wider content of bulletin itself, are not based on facts.
My questions for this FOI regarding this are as follows:
1. Please tell me how many copies of this SHE Bulletin were released.
2. Please provide me with more information about how you verify and "fact-check" claims made in this and all SHE Bulletins (if relevant).
3. Please tell me more about your regulatory standards regarding SHE Bulletins.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1225-2122
Thank you for your request received on 9 September 2021 asking for information about the SHE bulletin regarding reports of razor blades attached to posters.
We act urgently to remove unauthorised materials from our network, such as posters, including those relating to the pandemic. The safety of our customers and colleagues is paramount and we issued guidance to our staff on how to remove them safely after reports of instances outside of our network of razor blades being attached to the back of such materials. We are not aware of any instances of razor blades being attached to the back of such materials on our network and there have been very few instances of unauthorised adverts and materials relating to the pandemic more widely.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked: 1. Please tell me how many copies of this SHE Bulletin were released The SHE Alert and Bulletin is circulated via email to a distribution list comprising approximately 1,000 email addresses, the vast majority of whom are managers. Recipient managers are then responsible for cascading the information as necessary, and in many cases they will print out copies for display on noticeboards. The cascade process will include the provision of the information to non-TfL employees with whom we work. 2. Please provide me with more information about how you verify and "fact-check" claims made in this and all SHE Bulletins (if relevant) 3. Please tell me more about your regulatory standards regarding SHE Bulletins The chain of events in respect of this particular bulletin was that colleagues at Mitie – who are contractors for us as well as various other companies – forwarded a copy of a safety bulletin on this topic that they had prepared for their staff. Please find attached a copy of our bulletin, which is similar to the one issued by Mitie (also attached). The Mitie safety bulletin was received by a senior manager in Surface Transport, who forwarded to SHE requesting that it be circulated further. Our own in-house version was then prepared and circulated to across TfL for comment (representing all the different business areas). The final version was then signed off by a senior manager, before final sign-off by the Chief Safety, Health & Environment Officer. We did not seek independent verification of the content of Mitie’s bulletin because in the circumstances it was not necessary: Mitie is a trusted contractor with whom we have a long-standing relationship, and we would have had no reason to doubt what they were saying in their bulletin, there had also been national press coverage regarding this issue. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
