Northern Line asbestos survey specific stations and tunnels
Request ID: FOI-2002-2324 Date published: 06 October 2023
You asked
Dear TFL, Requests for asbestos surveys and registers of the Northern Line by several members of the public keep being refused using the "unreasonable" exemption loophole in the law. The use of this exemption seems systematic and unreasonable.
Registers are meant to be readily available in case of emergency. It is worrying that access to these files are according to TFL complex and would take a lot of time and resources. This is not following the HSE health and safety protocol for such documents.
I am looking for the asbestos surveys and registers for specific stations and tunnels of the Northern line ( tunnels from and including elephant and Castle to and including Euston station) . It is very specific. Can you please send these files digitally (zip files) or provide access.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2002-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11 September 2023 asking for information about asbestos surveys and register for the Northern line.
However, given the extent of the information your request captures, we are applying Regulation 12(4)(b) to your request for individual copies of asbestos surveys, as we believe that it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. Providing all this information would impose unreasonable costs on us and require an unreasonable diversion of resources. There are, potentially, a large amount of documents that would be covered by your request. To collate all of the material that falls within the scope of your request would be an excessively time consuming task.
The use of this exception is subject to a public interest test, whichrequires us to consider whether the public interest in applying theexception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. We recognise thatthe release of information would promote accountability and transparencyin public services and also help address your particular concerns aboutthis issue. However, the time it would take to provide the information youhave requested would divert a disproportionate amount of our resourcesfrom its core functions and on balance we consider that the publicinterest currently favours the use of the exception.
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
