Request ID: FOI-1269-2122 Date published: 29 September 2021
You asked
I am writing to make a request for the following LUL standard documents under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please send me:
1. A list of All LU Approved product list in the products register listed in http://www.lu-apr.co.uk/Pages/Logon.aspx
2. all data/certification associated with each product.
If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.
If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
I look forward to hearing from you.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1269-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13th September 2021 asking for information about London Underground approved products.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
all data/certification associated with each product.
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, as there is no quick or efficient way to source it all your request is being refused under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12 a public authority such as TfL is not required to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if that information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a cost of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work. For the reasons given below we estimate that to source the information requested would cost well in excess of the £450 limit.
By way of context, note that TfL does not hold a list or register of approved products. The tool in question (that you have provided a link to in your request) is an archive of historic product assessments for London Underground (LU). There is no guarantee that products assessed historically are currently compliant or fit for purpose. If a designer working on a LU project wishes to select a product from the register they must satisfy themselves that the assessment is still current (e.g. that the product or associated standards/legislation have not changed), and if they wish to use a product that is not listed, they may request that it is assessed and the assessment added to the register (subject to it being supported by a TfL sponsor).
Much of the information you have requested is held in ‘evidence’ files associated with each product entry. The tool has very limited functionality in terms of searching for information, and the only way of extracting the information you have requested would be to go into each product in the tool and download the relevant files individually. With over 5000 separate product entries held we do not believe this would be possible within the £450 limit (which would be the equivalent of handling 4-5 product entries per minute non-stop for 18 hours).
In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to consider narrowing its scope to focus on the information that is of most importance to you. For example, you may wish to restrict your request to a specific product or products.
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
