Our Ref:         FOI-3196-1819

Thank you for your request received on 24 February 2019 asking for information about the cost of advertising campaigns.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and TfL’s information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked:
 
I would like to request information on the amount of money that has been spent since the Mr Khan took office on the following ads:
 
1) 2nd Referendum
2) Anti- Obesity
 
If there has been no cost and indeed the two ads have paid TfL, could you let me know how much. And can this be compared to the average cost of advertising for Strutt & Parker, or Marsh & Parsons.
 
People’s Vote have run two campaigns on the TfL network. The first a one day campaign on 18 October 2018, the second a two week campaign running from 14 – 27 January 2019. For both campaigns, People’s Vote paid a commercial rate. Their first campaign in October 2018 had a rate card value of £50k. Their second campaign in January 2019 had a rate card value of £16k. As is normal, the actual amount paid was subject to negotiation between the client and our advertising partner.
 
Please note that there is no average cost of advertising on TfL – each campaign is subject to negotiations with the relevant advertising partner. In 2019, Marsh & Parsons ran 10 campaigns on our network which had a combined rate card value of £302k, however this sum bears no relation to the People’s Vote campaigns as they would have been of different size and duration, and at different stations. Strutt & Parker have not run any campaigns on our network in 2019.
 
In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply the final price paid for these campaigns as this is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2). The disclosure of the negotiated rate would prejudice our ability to maximise future revenue from advertising.
 
In this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied to the final price paid as disclosure would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests. These values are subject to negotiation with the advertising partner, and the disclosure of any negotiated rate would prejudice our ability to maximise future revenue from advertising.
 
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we are able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.
 
Unfortunately, to provide information on ‘anti-obesity’ ad campaigns would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
 
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
 
We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take over 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
 
Advertisements are not classified by whether they are anti-obesity, and could have been run by any food/health company/organisation. Therefore in order to collate the requested information we would need to review two years’ worth of advertisements.
 
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by Transport for London. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to a particular period of time, geographical area or specific departments of TfL.
 
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
 
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
 
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please feel free to contact me.
 
I would also like to request a breakdown of the advertising revenue received by TfL from companies from when Mr Johnson was Mayor and Mr Khan.
 
We publish the commercial advertising receipts income in our Annual Reports. These are published on our website:
 
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/annual-report
 
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
 
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
 
Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

[email protected]