Request ID: FOI-2289-2324 Date published: 24 October 2023
You asked
Please provide information relating to the decision to not make or play announcements that begging is not allowed. Who made this decision and was it due to complaints or feedback from any individual or organisation. In case of the latter, who are they. There is mention that this is not affective use of announcement. Please also provide number of slip trip or falls from 2010 to 2022.
Clarification received 03/10/2023: For slips trips and falls, please use London Underground as taken from incident reporting systems.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2289-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 27th September 2023 – as clarified on 3rd October 2023 - asking for information about begging announcements and slips, trips and falls on the London Underground.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“Please provide information relating to the decision to not make or play announcements that begging is not allowed. Who made this decision and was it due to complaints or feedback from any individual or organisation. In case of the latter, who are they. There is mention that this is not affective use of announcement. Please also provide number of slip trip or falls from 2010 to 2022.”
And;
“For slips trips and falls, please use London Underground as taken from incident reporting systems.”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require.
Regarding the questions about announcements, a decision was taken a few years ago after discussion with the Greater London Authority to move away from old begging messages on our PA system to instead highlight the Mayor’s position on begging, which focusses on the need to partner with charities and to try to address the root causes of begging. There had been complaints from members of the public about the message and tone of our old announcements, suggesting they were not having the desired impact.
In answer to your second question, please see the table below which shows the number of slip, trip or fall related incidents on the London Underground resulting in an injury to a person. The data provided is by calendar year from the 1st January 2017 to the 31st December 2022. Please note that data prior to 2017 is held on a different system, and to extract it back to 2010 would exceed the £450 costs limit for responding to FOI cases, as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Note also that passenger numbers on the London Underground dipped significantly during the pandemic.
Calendar Year
Number of Slips Trips or Falls on London Underground Resulting in Injury
2017
2,381
2018
2,697
2019
3,078
2020
1,252
2021
1,675
2022
2,322
If this is not the information you are looking for 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
