Our ref: FOI-2055-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 03 October 2024 asking for the Class S7/S8 stock contract.
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. However, we are refusing your request under section 14(1) of the Act, as we consider that providing the requested information would place an unreasonable burden on us. Our principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London, and we consider that answering this request would represent a disproportionate effort. We do wish to clarify that whilst we consider that your request falls under section 14(1) of the FOI Act, this does not reflect a conclusion that it has been your intention to deliberately place an undue burden on our resources.
You have requested ‘…the document pertaining to the commissioning and initial design of the Class S7/S8 stock (contract document) from Bombardier Transportation’. To provide this information will require reviewing a large volume of material which will divert our specialists away from their core functions and, may also need input from Bombardier. Therefore, the significant time and effort required to provide this information is disproportionate to the value in doing so.
On the specific application of section 14(1) we have been steered by the ICO guidance on the use of that exemption that can be found on its website here: https://ico.org.uk/media/1198/dealing-with-vexatious-requests.pdf
You will note that this guidance includes the following advice to public authorities:
“Section 14(1) may be used in a variety of circumstances where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. Whilst public authorities should think carefully before refusing a request as vexatious, they should not regard section 14(1) as something which is only to be applied in the most extreme circumstances”.
“The information Commissioner recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can place a strain on resources and get in the way of delivering mainstream services or answering legitimate requests.”
“Section 14(1) is designed to protect public authorities by allowing them to refuse any request which have the potential to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress”.
The guidance includes some specific indicators to help public authorities judge whether or not a case should be considered vexatious. This includes the following:
“Burden on the authority: the effort required to meet the request will be so grossly oppressive in terms of the strain on time and resources, that the authority cannot reasonably be expected to comply, no matter how legitimate the subject matter or valid the intentions of the requester”.
“Disproportionate effort: the matter being pursued by the requester is relatively trivial and the authority would have to extend a disproportionate amount of resources in order to meet the request.”
The ICO guidance provides the following examples of a ‘fishing expedition’ request which may fall under section 14(1) if it:
- Imposes a burden by obliging the authority to sift through a substantial volume of information to isolate and extract the relevant details;
- Encompasses information which is only of limited value because of the wide scope of the request;
- Creates a burden by requiring the authority to spend a considerable amount of time considering any exemptions and redactions.
Our view is that all three of these examples apply in this instance.
You may wish to consider refining your requests to concentrate on matters which are important to you. It may interest you to view the following response on the design of the S7 and S8 fleet: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/schematical_drawings_of_s7_and_s
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Tahsin Prima
FOI Case Officer
General Counsel
Transport for London
