I am seeking the following information in relation to the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5), which was awarded to ABM. 1) Please disclose the headcount and FTE of staff working for ABM on delivery of TfL’s One Facilities bundle 5 contract as per below: Year Headcount Directly employed Headcount Agency FTE Directly employed FTE Agency 2017 2018 2019 2) Please disclose the following documents relating to the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5): Appendices A, B, C and E (Services Matrix, Equipment Matrix, Detail of Services Matrix, Resource Schedule), Schedule 12 (Performance Meaasurement). 3) Please disclose: • any reports made to TfL by ABM in line with its responsibility under the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5) relating to the achievement or maintenance of cleaning standards between 2017 and 2019. • copies of any activity plans relating to the planning and programming of works agreed by TfL with ABM together with any correspondence between the parties concerning these activity plans. • copies of the annual period cleaning programme approved by TfL under the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract. 4) Please disclose any correspondence between members of the London Assembly and the Mayor’s office or TfL executives concerning the contract with ABM.

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Our ref: FOI-3713-1920/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 28 February 2020 asking for information about the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5).

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

1) Please disclose the headcount and FTE of staff working for ABM on delivery of TfL’s One Facilities bundle 5 contract as per below:

TfL does not hold this information.

2) Please disclose the following documents relating to the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5):

Appendices A, B, C and E (Services Matrix, Equipment Matrix, Detail of Services Matrix, Resource Schedule), Schedule 12 (Performance Measurement).

A redacted version of the contract and appendices are published here:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/20eeefc9-07d0-44ae-a70a-3b0aa5a12fa4?p=2

The remainder of your request is being refused under section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, which provides an exemption to the disclosure of information where a request is considered to be ‘vexatious’. In reaching this conclusion we have drawn on guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), both in relation to the specific application of section 14 and in relation to FOI-handling more generally.

On the specific application of section 14(1) we have been steered by the ICO guidance on the use of that exemption that can be found on its website here: [1]https://ico.org.uk/media/1198/dealing-with-vexatious-requests.pdf

You will note that this guidance includes the following advice to public authorities:

“Section 14(1) may be used in a variety of circumstances where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. Whilst public authorities should think carefully before refusing a request as vexatious they should not regard section 14(1) as something which is only to be applied in the most extreme circumstances”;

“Sometimes a request may be so patently unreasonable or objectionable that it will obviously be vexatious….In cases where the issue is not clear-cut, the key question to ask is whether the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress…This will usually be a matter of objectively judging the evidence of the impact on the authority and weighing this against any evidence about the purpose and value of the request”;

“The information Commissioner recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can place a strain on resources and get in the way of delivering mainstream services or answering legitimate requests.”

“Section 14(1) is designed to protect public authorities by allowing them to refuse any requests which have the potential to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress”.

The guidance includes some specific indicators to help public authorities judge whether or not a case should be considered vexatious. This includes the following:

“Burden on the authority: the effort required to meet the request will be so grossly oppressive in terms of the strain on time and resources, that the authority cannot reasonably be expected to comply, no matter how legitimate the subject matter or valid the intentions of the requester”;

To be more specific, one part of your request asks for:

· any reports made to TfL by ABM in line with its responsibility under the TfL Pan London FM cleaning contract (Bundle 5) relating to the achievement or maintenance of cleaning standards between 2017 and 2019.

ABM has provided TfL with a report for every 4 week period during the 3 years you have requested. These reports contain commercially sensitive information and would therefore need to be individually assessed to consider whether redactions are required. We estimate that each report may take an hour to consider, and therefore the work to answer this part of your request would take almost 30 hours.

To answer the other parts of your request we would need to contact various areas of the business and therefore to answer your request in its entirety would take considerably longer.

Please be assured that our application of the section 14 exemption does not reflect a conclusion that it has been your deliberate intention to place an undue burden on TfL, and we will consider any future request for information on its merits and in accordance with the requirements of the FOI Act and the expectations of the ICO. However, in making any future request I would ask that you consider carefully what information is of most importance to you, and to take into account the guidance and advice provided by the ICO such as the “dos and don’ts” published on its website

here: [2]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/official-information/

The Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the Coronavirus. It is essential for London, and in particular for all critical workers, that we continue to provide a safe transport network that enables them to make the journeys they need to.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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