Request ID: FOI-1986-2324 Date published: 28 September 2023
You asked
I have been informed by TfL Customer Service Advisers that instances of offensive graffiti on TfL assets are to be removed within 24 hours of being reported, and instances of non-offensive graffiti are to be removed within 28 days of being reported.
Accordingly I would be grateful if TfL would provide me with the following data:
1) What percentage of reports (including the number of reports) of offensive graffiti on TfL assets are recorded as having been completed successfully by contractors within the stated TfL target of 24 hours between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.
2) What percentage of reports (including the number of reports) of non-offensive graffiti on TfL assets are recorded as having been completed successfully by contractors within the stated TfL target of 28 days between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.
I understand that I do not have to specify particular files or documents, and that it is the department's responsibility to provide the information I require. If you need further clarification, please contact me by email at XXX
I would like to receive the information via email in electronic format either as a PDF or Word document.
If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the Act. I will also expect you to release all non-exempt material. I reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to charge excessive fees.
I would be grateful if you would confirm in writing that you have received this request. I look forward to your response within 20 working days as outlined by the statute.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1986-2324/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 September 2023 asking for information about graffiti on TfL assets.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. However, to provide 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 requests 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. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’.
Graffiti removal from assets maintained by Asset Operations which includes bus stations, shelters and stops, traffic signals, structures and signage (owned by TfL or on the Transport for London Road Network), tunnels, Legible London signs, safety and CCTV cameras and variable message signs are carried out within the overall maintenance programmes managed by our contractors. In order to answer your request we would need to manually extract the relevant information from various sources. This would take an excessive amount of time and would therefore exceed the ‘appropriate’ limit.
To help bring the cost of responding to your requests within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider refining your requests to concentrate on matters which are important to you.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does 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. If you have specific questions relating to these topics we may be more easily able to respond to these than to a request for any information held.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
