TfL Ref: 2462-2425

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 2 November 2024 asking for information about lost property.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You specifically asked: Please may you provide me with the total number of items handed in to lost property in the last complete two year period. Out of the total number of items handed in to lost property, I would like to know the total number of items that were collected. Please may you also provide a breakdown of the specific items given to lost property. Please provide the information in the form of an Excel spreadsheet.  If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.

The data for you have requested for 2021/22, 2021/22 and 2022/23 is routinely published as part of our Lost Property Office data and is available at the following link: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/lost-property-office-transparency-data-fy2021-22-23.pdf

Under section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to provide you with information which is reasonably accessible by other means.

Data for 2023/24 will be published before the end of this year, in line with our usual processes and timescales. That data is therefore exempt from disclosure at the present time under section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act, which applies where information is ‘intended for future publication’.
 
Section 22 is a ‘qualified’ exemption, meaning we have to assess whether the public interest in applying the exemption outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure. We appreciate the need for openness and transparency in the running of our business, and the fact that you have requested the information is in itself an argument in favour of immediate release. However, in this instance we consider that the public interest favours the publication of this information in context and according to the pre-determined schedule. This is particularly the case given the planned publication is only a matter of weeks away.

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