Request ID: FOI-1294-2223 Date published: 12 September 2022
You asked
- How many PCNs have been issued in each of the last 5 calendar years – up to and including August 2022?
- How many of these PCNs arose because of failure to create an auto pay facility?
- How many appeals against PCNs were made in each of the last 5 calendar years – up to and including August 2022?
- How many of these appeals were upheld by TFL/ULEZ?
- How many of these appeals were rejected by TFL/ULEZ but referred to the Independent Adjudicator?
- How many of these appeals were rejected by TFL/ULEZ but referred to the Independent Adjudicator?
- In relation to items 3, 4, 5 and 6 above, how many of these appeals at decisions at each stage related to a failure to create an auto pay facility?
- Can we have a copies of any Equality Impact Assessment, Accessibility Assessment or user experience reviews carried out either prior to the launch or subsequent operation of the website tfl.gov.uk – and in particular but not restricted to the section tfl.gov.uk/ulez?
- What is the name of external design company and/ or team within TFL or ULEZ responsible for the design and operation of this website and section?
- What is the annual cost of creation, design and operation of this website and this section since creation?
We answered
TfL Ref: 1294-2223
Thank you for your request received by us on 15 August 2022 asking for information about Penalty Charge Notices and the Ultra Low Emissions Zone scheme.
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 hold some of the information you require. You asked:
How many PCNs have been issued in each of the last 5 calendar years – up to and including August 2022?
How many of these PCNs arose because of failure to create an auto pay facility
How many appeals against PCNs were made in each of the last 5 calendar years – up to and including August 2022?
How many of these appeals were upheld by TFL/ULEZ? – As above they mean reps so we can get this.
How many of these appeals were rejected by TFL/ULEZ but referred to the Independent Adjudicator?
How many of these appeals were rejected by TFL/ULEZ but referred to the Independent Adjudicator?
In relation to items 3, 4, 5 and 6 above, how many of these appeals at decisions at each stage related to a failure to create an auto pay facility?
Can we have a copies of any Equality Accessibility Assessment carried out either prior to the launch or subsequent operation of the website tfl.gov.uk – and in particular but not restricted to the section tfl.gov.uk/ulez?
What is the name of external design company and/ or team within TFL or ULEZ responsible for the design and operation of this website and section?
What is the annual cost of creation, design and operation of this website and this section since creation?.
We can advise that we do not hold information for Item 2 on how many PCNs have arisen due to failure to create an auto pay facility; we are only able to access information on why a PCN has been issued once a representation has been made by the individual concerned. Hence, even though the registered keeper may have received a PCN caused by an Auto Pay issue, if their representation does not state this as a reason, we would not hold this information.
Additionally, we can confirm that there are no separate itemised costs relating to the annual cost of creation, design and operation for the online ULEZ section, as they form part of the integral costs of running the TfL website. The ‘Driving’ section of the website, inclusive of ULEZ, shares many of the same components with TfL’s main site, all of which are designed and operated in-house.
Unfortunately, to provide the remainder of the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
To fulfil your request covering Item 7, for example, we would need to manually review the number of representations received over the five calendar years. Representations are when PCNs are initially challenged, whilst appeals are made to the Independent Road User Charging Adjudicator, as explained via the following links to our website:
Since ‘failure to create an Auto Pay account’ is not a reason provided for making a representation - although reasons relating to failing to add a vehicle to an account can be filtered on our system for such an entry - we would need to manually check and review each representation entered on our systems to see whether a ‘failure to create an Auto Pay account’ has been mentioned as the reason for not paying a PCN over the last five calendar years.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking to, prioritising the information that is of most importance. A significant number of FOI requests on this subject have been answered previously and are viewable on our website at the following link: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information
If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, 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
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
