Request ID: FOI-4567-2324 Date published: 12 April 2024
You asked
All emails, minuted discussions and other written communications relating to resources and staffing for Project Detroit from 15 August 2023 to present.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-4567-2324
Thank you for your request received on 16 March 2024 asking for information about Project Detroit.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. When requests for email correspondence are received the FOI Case Management team can conduct company-wide email searches using keywords, dates and email addresses. The more specific a requester can be as to what they are looking for, the more we can narrow the search and therefore stand a better chance of a more relevant or focused result. A search will then return an amount of ‘hits’ which potentially contain information relating to the search terms used. Each ‘hit’ is a single email, although that email will often consist of a chain of emails containing the search term at least once. We have done an initial search for all emails held by TfL with the keyword ‘Project Detroit’ and over the requested time period there are over 30,000 hits. Please note that this will not include any possible emails that might be captured by your request that did not include the keyword ‘Project Detroit’. Many of these emails are likely to be media summaries or other emails not directly related to your request and a large number are also likely to be duplicates. However, in order to process your request in full, we would need to manually review the full content caught by this request in order to determine whether any information contained within them engaged one or more exceptions from disclosure under the EIRs and, therefore, needed to be redacted. Given the time it would take to do this and the diversion of limited and specialist resources it would require, we are applying Regulation 12(4)(b) as we believe that the request is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. There are limits on the time that TfL are required to spend determining whether TfL holds the information you are requesting and the time spent locating, retrieving and extracting it. Please note, as emails contain a significant amount of personal data such as phone numbers and email addresses that would need to be redacted. This would also be true of any additional information that warrants consideration of any additional exceptions. Additionally, by their nature, wide ranging and non-specific request that ask for correspondence will very likely encompass information which is only of limited value. If you wish to resubmit a request then you should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, for example you may want to provide keywords or a specific subject that we can search against or narrow the timeframe covered. 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. As you are aware, we have previously responded to several requests regarding Project Detroit that are published on the FOI pages on our website that may be of some assistance. The use of this exception is subject to a public interest test, which requires us to consider whether the public interest in applying the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. We recognise that the release of information would promote accountability and transparency in public services and may help address your particular concerns about this issue. However, the time it would take to provide the information you have requested in a wide ranging, and unfocussed request would divert a disproportionate amount of our resources from its core functions and on balance we consider that the public interest currently favours the use of the exception. We will consider your request again, if you are able to narrow its scope so that we can more easily process the full extent of the information you are seeking.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
