Dear TFL. Arriva Rail London are consulting on charges to their stations operations and staffing levels . This is going on , on the London Overground sections East London Line West London Line North London Line West Anglia Inners Gospel oak to barking . Under the FOI , can I be provided with the following . Current total staffing levels, and proposed total staffing levels for the following stations for a Monday morning 0700-10.00 and Thursday afternoon 1600-1900 Willesden Junction Shadwell Walthamstow Central Bushy Seven Sisters Shepherds Bush Shorditch High Street Can you ensure I get this info within the usual timescales .

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TfL Ref: 4521-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13 February 2018 asking for information about the Arriva Rail London consultation. Your two emails as below are being treated as one request.

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 asked:

Arriva Rail London are consulting on charges to their stations operations and staffing levels . This is going on , on the London Overground sections

East London Line

West London Line

North London Line

West Anglia Inners

Gospel oak to barking .

Under the FOI , can I be provided with the following .

Current total staffing levels, and proposed total staffing levels for the following stations for a Monday morning 0700-10.00 and for a Thursday Afternoon 16.00-19.00.

Willesden Junction

Shadwell

Walthamstow Central

Bushy

Seven Sisters

Shepherds Bush

Shorditch High Street 

As announced in September 2017, Arrival Rail London (ARL) is leading on a programme in collaboration with Transport for London to modernise journeys on London Overground to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers and the communities it serves.

As part of this programme, later this year ARL will open a statutory consultation involving London TravelWatch and the Department for Transport, solely seeking views on the use and need for station ticket offices across the network. The way customers pay for travel has changed rapidly as they embrace new technology such as contactless payment cards and mobile devices and this creates an opportunity to improve the way stations are managed and how staff serve customers. ARL have engaged with local community groups to inform them of this review and TfL have engaged their statutory stakeholders to inform them of the same.

This statutory consultation is not looking at overall station staffing levels.

Separately, ARL are looking at a simplified staffing model that would increase the number of staff it directly employees in permanent roles and reduce the reliance on agency staff. This internal consultation is at a relatively early stage of the programme and at the present time there are no proposals regarding future stations staffing levels, therefore we are unable to provide this information.

You also asked about current staffing levels. In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the documentation requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under s38 of the Act. In this instance the exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information requested would be likely to adversely affect the safety and security of ARL employees and members of the general public by providing detailed information on the level of staffing at individual stations at particular times of the day.

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, and that there is some public interest in understanding the current level of staffing at stations, particularly in light of the review of station ticket offices. However in this instance we feel that ensuring the protection of vulnerable people, passengers and staff puts the balance in favour of withholding the information particularly as the National Threat Level for Terrorism currently sits at severe which means an attack is highly likely.

We are however able to provide the aggregate staffing level across the stations you have asked about for the time periods in question. This information is as follows:

Monday morning 0700-10.00 -  13 or 14 members of staff

Thursday Afternoon 16.00-19.00 - 13 or 14 members of staff

The safety of all our customers, staff and others involved in travelling or working on our network is always our overriding priority. All stations are staffed first to last service and most stations are gated to prevent unauthorised access.  CCTV coverage is extensive and customer help points are widespread.  We are always looking to improve safety even further, with more police officers on the network working closely with local staff in order to support customers.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.

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

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

[email protected]

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