Transactions over £500 from April 2018
Request ID: FOI-2886-1819
Date published: 11 February 2019
You asked
Thank you for publishing your spend data here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/expenditure-over-250. However, I notice that you haven't published any spending data since August 2018 and all the files are overlapping of multiple months.
I'd like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all transactions over £500 from April 2018 to at most a quarter in arrears from the date at which you publish in response to this request.
Please provide the data in a machine readable format (preferably csv) as separate, complete calendar months. As a minimum, please make sure to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also provide details on the procurement category of each transaction if you have it.
Your team may also be interested in the guidance on producing spending data:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2015
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2886-1819
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 28th January 2019 asking for information about TfL transactions of over £500 in the period from April 2018 to 11th November 2018 (three months prior to today’s date).
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold the information you require.
The information you have asked for is largely available on our website using the following link: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/expenditure-over-250
Since your request was received this data has been updated to include information up to 13th October 2018. The data is presented in four-weekly periods, in accordance with common accounting practice. I note that you have requested that the data be provided by calendar month and for transactions of £500 or more. As each individual transaction shown on the website includes a specific date and value anyone accessing the data can reformat it into any time periods and values of their choosing. In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act (“Information accessible to the applicant by other means”) we are therefore not obliged to supply you with the requested information as it is already readily accessible to you elsewhere.
The more recent data that we hold will be added to the website in due course. The Period 8 data should be added within the next two weeks. We are therefore withholding this more recent data under section 22 of the FOI Act in order that it can be published in accordance with our usual practices. Section 22 provides an exemption to the release of information where it is due for publication at some future date and where, in all the circumstances of the case, it is reasonable to withhold it until publication. Section 22 is a “qualified exemption”, meaning we have to weigh up whether the greater public interest lies in applying the exemption or in releasing the data now in any case.
In considering the public interest we recognise the expectation of openness and transparency placed on public authorities by the FOI Act. However, in this case that expectation is met through the routine publication of the requested material. The guidance from the Information Commissioner on the use of the section 22 exemption states that, “The closer to the date of publication, the more reasonable it is likely to be for the public authority to withhold the information until publication has taken place.” Given it will only be a short period of time until the data is published we believe that it is reasonable to apply the exemption in this case, and for the information to be issued in line with our planned processes.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some 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
Back to top
