Request ID: FOI-1538-2223 Date published: 05 October 2022
You asked
For the period of 2018-2022 as:
1. How many LU employees were referred on a residential drug treatment programme by DAATS?
2. How many of those employees failed to complete the treatment programme?
3. How many employees that were sent to a programme during the reference period negotiated alternative treatment, i.e. was transferred to another programme?
4. How many employees referred to DAATS, that did not complete a residential treatment programme remain employed?
5. Relating to question 6, can you provide the cases, removing personal identifying information
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1386-2223 / FOI-1583-2223
Thank you for your requests received on 8 and 27 September 2022 asking for information about referrals for London Underground employees made by our Drugs and Alcohol Assessment and Treatment Services (DAATS).
Your requests have been processed in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.
As previously advised, TfL are committed to supporting employees who come forward to the DAATS or to their line manager with an alcohol and/or drugs related problem. DAATS was established to provide assistance for employees who are experiencing problems with alcohol and/or drugs with the aim of returning them safely back to the workplace.
In accordance with our obligations under the Data Protection legislation the information you have requested has been withheld as required by section 40(2) of the FOI Act.
We have to regard disclosure of any information under FOI as a disclosure to ‘the public at large’. We consider that there is a high possibility that if this data were released and combined with other information that may be known to other people there is a very real risk of reidentification as it relates to a small number of people.
Disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle of Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation 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’.
We do not think it would be fair to disclose this information as there is no expectation from the individuals that this information would be placed into the public domain and there would be a very real risk that individuals could potentially be identified from the information.
This exemption to the right of access to information is an absolute exemption and not subject to an assessment of whether the public interest favours use of the exemption.
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
