Copy of the contracts(s) that prevent the release of the older Pauline Cavilla voiced versions of the London Underground station platforms automated announcements.
Request ID: FOI-2275-2324 Date published: 18 October 2023
You asked
Follow-up to FOI-1918-2324: Dear Transport for London,
In my recent FOI request (FOI-1918-2324/GH) here you have refused it under the S43(2) exemption:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_sound_files_of_the_pauline_c#incoming-2427746
In your response you have stated:
"These contracts specify that the recordings are solely to be used for the purpose for which they were created and for broadcast on the London Underground network only."
So under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000 i would like to see a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to in your response. So i am making a new request to ask you to attach a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to. If you could attach it in PDF or any format that you have that would be great.
I know there is a contract with Global Radio Services Limited preventing the release of the Emma Clarke and Sarah Parnell announcements on the S Stock and 2009 Stock and 1992 Stock and 1972 Stock trains. I believe that there may also be a contract with Sayer Hamilton Limited preventing the release of the current Elinor Hamilton announcements that are used at all London Underground stations (except Bayswater where you forgot to replace them) currently. However i have not seen any contract regarding these old Pauline Cavilla recordings that i am asking for. So i am looking to have a copy so i can review it.
So the purpose of my request is to see a copy of this contract so that i can then assess whether the S43(2) exemption was correctly applied. Please note that this is not an Internal Review request. This is a fresh brand new FOI request to get a copy of the contract. If the contract contains any personal information or any commercially sensitive information then you can of course redact that.
Thank you for your help and i look forward to seeing a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2275-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 26th September 2023 asking for copies of audio announcements contracts. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“In my recent FOI request (FOI-1918-2324/GH) here you have refused it under the S43(2) exemption:
"These contracts specify that the recordings are solely to be used for the purpose for which they were created and for broadcast on the London Underground network only."
So under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000 i would like to see a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to in your response. So i am making a new request to ask you to attach a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to. If you could attach it in PDF or any format that you have that would be great.
I know there is a contract with Global Radio Services Limited preventing the release of the Emma Clarke and Sarah Parnell announcements on the S Stock and 2009 Stock and 1992 Stock and 1972 Stock trains. I believe that there may also be a contract with Sayer Hamilton Limited preventing the release of the current Elinor Hamilton announcements that are used at all London Underground stations (except Bayswater where you forgot to replace them) currently. However i have not seen any contract regarding these old Pauline Cavilla recordings that i am asking for. So i am looking to have a copy so i can review it.
So the purpose of my request is to see a copy of this contract so that i can then assess whether the S43(2) exemption was correctly applied. Please note that this is not an Internal Review request. This is a fresh brand new FOI request to get a copy of the contract. If the contract contains any personal information or any commercially sensitive information then you can of course redact that.
Thank you for your help and i look forward to seeing a copy of the contract(s) that you refer to.”
We have undertaken an exhaustive search of our records – including in relation to a previous, related request and again now with colleagues in our Corporate Archives team - in an attempt to locate the contract you have referred to but without any success. We have looked through our supplier/contract records as best as we can and have found no records in either our current or legacy file registers of the contract in question. The process of searching for the contract has already taken up considerable resource and we cannot justify the provision of additional resource being diverted from our core functions to work on this request. For this reason we are refusing your request in accordance with section 14(1) of the FOI Act.
Significant time, effort and resource has already gone into making as many of the audio announcements as accessible as possible to the public and we appreciate there is an interest amongst enthusiasts. However, we consider that expending further resource on trying to locate the relevant contract (which may even no longer be held) to then determine what limitations or restrictions on disclosure may apply in order to fully process this request is disproportionate to the benefit of fulfilling the request, given the distraction it would provide to a limited number of specialist personnel. Our principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London. It would be a significant distraction from our work managing the TfL network, requiring the re-allocation of already limited resource and placing an unacceptable burden on a small number of personnel, to provide information that has little value to the wider public. We therefore believe that the greater public interest rests in the exemption applying.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
