Request ID: FOI-2141-2223 Date published: 08 December 2022
You asked
This is a request for information from Transport for London under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
As you know, if any of the information requested below is in the public domain you have a duty under section 16 of the Act to indicate where that information may be found, for example by providing links to it, where it is already on line.
Under section 10 of the Act (subject to the provisions of section 1), you have until the 20th working day following receipt of this request to supply the information requested or indicate where it may be found.
The information requested is as follows:
1 The percentage of respondents to the consultation announced on 20 May 2022 on the then proposed expansion in 2023 of the ultra low emission zone into the area of outer London shown in light green in the map below who live and/or work in that area who opposed the expansion, out of:
(a) The total number of respondents
(b) The total number of respondents who expressed a view for or against.
2 What tests did TfL apply, or have applied, to ensure that the data referred to in (1) above were reliable and robust?
I note that, in a number of responses to FoIA requesters, you have relied on section 12 of the Act to claim that the cost of compliance with the requests would be too high. This is a simple request for basic information so I would hope that it does not fall into this category.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2141-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 26th November 2022 asking for information about the ULEZ expansion consultation.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked to know:
“1 The percentage of respondents to the consultation announced on 20 May 2022 on the then proposed expansion in 2023 of the ultra low emission zone into the area of outer London shown in light green in the map below who live and/or work in that area who opposed the expansion, out of: (a) The total number of respondents (b) The total number of respondents who expressed a view for or against. 2 What tests did TfL apply, or have applied, to ensure that the data referred to in (1) above were reliable and robust?”
Note that on 25 November 2022 we published our consultation reports on (i) the proposed revision to the Mayors Transport Strategy and (ii) our proposals to help improve air quality, tackle the climate emergency, and reduce congestion by expanding the ULEZ London-wide and other measures. Both reports provide our analysis of the consultation responses and the methodology undertaken to deliver this consultation.
In answer to your first question, it should be clarified that in the consultation we did not ask a specific question regarding support or opposition for the ULEZ expansion. A consultation is not a referendum on a binary question. Rather, its purpose is to ascertain the thoughts, feelings, views and feedback from groups most likely to be impacted by our proposals. This information is then reported to the Mayor to consider and assist in his decision making.
We did ask a question relating to the implementation date of ULEZ London wide. The specific question was “We are proposing to expand the ULEZ London-wide on 29 August 2023. What do you think of the implementation date?“ The answers that could be given to this question were:
Should be earlier
The right date
Should be later
Should not be implemented
I don’t know
48,028 people in total answered this question, of which 29,543 identified as living in Outer London.
Of the 29,543 respondents living in outer London 70% answered ‘should not be implemented’. You can review all of the data relating to this question in section 4.13 of the Report to the Mayor (2).
Our qualitative analysis of consultation feedback is also detailed in the Report to the Mayor (2), regarding general comments of support or opposition. Section 5.2.2, table 34 provides a summary of the general comments that were received in support of the scheme proposals, while section 5.2.3. table 35 provides a summary of the general comments that were received in opposition to the proposals.
In answer to your second question, please see section 3.5 of the Report to the Mayor (2), which explains our methodology for analysing and reporting on the consultation feedback.
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
