F/O from ref 1082-2021 Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews. I am writing to request an internal review of Transport for London's handling of my FOI request 'Email inbox covid19 and toilet facilities.'. Please provide the pictures you have recieved from the emails to asset operations of toilets. This is all I require from Asset Operations. A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/email_inbox_covid19_and_toilet_f

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TfL Ref 1620-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 November 2020 asking for copies of the pictures we received attached to emails relating to toilet facilities to the [email protected] email box between 16 March 2020 and 14 September 2020 that we referred to in your previous FOI response.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require.

We have accessed the [email protected] and have checked the emails we hold which relate to toilets and contain photographs in the period between 16 March to 14 September 2020. Please find these photographs attached.

Reports we receive about problems with our toilet facilities to this inbox are then sent to our Response Desk and are logged on a central operational system and passed to our cleaning contractor immediately and are dealt with within a maximum period of 24 hours. We track all reports on our database and log when completed, there are spot checks on quality of cleaning carried out by TfL staff and as part of the contractors auditing regime of their staff performance.

Toilets provided by TfL on our bus network are cleaned at least once a day, unless there are any incidents such as leaks/accidents, if an urgent clean is required our contractors will attend within a maximum of four hours.

In addition TfL spray all our toilets and welfare facilities with a 28 day pre-treatment anti-viral cleaning product, the treatment kills viruses for up to 30 days after application. We reapply the treatment every 21 days. This is on top of daily cleaning and COVID touch point enhancements. This goes above Public Health England advice.   

In order to maintain satisfactory standards our contracts set standards for cleanliness for the contractors and include measures for monitoring performance. Any issues are generally reported by bus station staff or by the drivers themselves.

Within the station or unit there are instructions which provide a number to contact to report problems with toilet facilities, and this is manned 24/7. All cleaning faults are recorded and this data can be analysed to identify any recurring issues and put appropriate measures in place.

This year’s current budget for cleaning of bus stations, stands and facilities is £2.8m.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, 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

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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