Please could you provide a fleet list containing the following information regarding your fleet of emergency units, incident response unit and vehicle jointly operated with BTP: Vehicle callsign (if any) Vehicle fleet number Vehicle make Vehicle mode Vehicles role (e.g. Incident response unit etc) Where the vehicle is based Please could you also specify what the role of an incident response unit is.

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TfL Ref: 1430-1920

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 9 August 2019 asking for information about our emergency vehicle fleet. Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked for:

Please could you provide a fleet list containing the following information regarding your fleet of emergency units, incident response unit and vehicle jointly operated with BTP:

Vehicle callsign (if any)

Vehicle fleet number

Vehicle make

Vehicle mode

Vehicles role (e.g. Incident response unit etc)

Where the vehicle is based

Please could you also specify what the role of an incident response unit is.

In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the information you have requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 24 of the Act. This exemption has been applied to the emergency and incident response vehicle details you have requested including any vehicles jointly operated with the British Transport Police. Disclosure of this information could assist persons wishing to disrupt London’s transport infrastructure by placing into the public domain information which would otherwise not be available via any accessible means, and adversely affect the safety and security of TfL employees and members of the general public, as well as present a risk to our national security.

The current threat level in the UK remains severe, and there have been recent attacks and suspicious devices found at transport hubs in London. The information you have requested includes the fleet number, make and model and the location where the vehicles are based. If the registration numbers of our emergency response and incident response vehicles became known, this information could be used to bypass our security systems and potentially carry out terrorist or criminal activities. Specifically, the information could be used to ‘clone’ emergency vehicles which could then be used to bypass the automatic number plate recognition system and could then be used as a potential weapon to destabilise the ability of Transport for London and the BTP to respond to national critical incidents. We believe that this is a very real threat, which if activated would significantly impact on its abilities to co-ordinate national resources for major national critical incidents. In addition, provision of this information would reduce the opportunity for intervention as suspicious behaviour aimed at trying to obtain the registration plates of these vehicles is more likely to be detected and apprehended if an individual cannot access information about security arrangements via the internet and instead has to physically identify the vehicles and match it up in conjunction with other information already in the public domain.

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, and acknowledge that there is some public interest in this information from a public safety perspective. However, disclosure of this information to you has to be regarded as a disclosure to ‘the public at large’. This information could potentially be obtained and utilised by individuals who may wish to use this information to cause disruption or harm to London’s transport infrastructure. In this instance, minimising the risk to transport infrastructure and protecting the welfare of members of the general public outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

The Information Commissioner’s Office have issued a Decision Notice regarding the application of section 24 withhold information. We believe the same arguments can be applied as the information being requested is broadly the same:

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2011/598612/fs_50308040.pdf

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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