FOI request detail

Pest control

Request ID: FOI-4701-2324
Date published: 23 April 2024

You asked
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please can you provide me with information on pest control at your organisation. The total number of reports of pests at your organisation in each of the calendar years a) 2019, b) 2020, c) 2021, d) 2022, e) 2023. If possible, the total number of reports of pests on trains at your organisation in each of the calendar years a) 2019, b) 2020, c) 2021, d) 2022, e) 2023. The total cost of pest control to your organisation in each of the calendar years a) 2019, b) 2020, c) 2021, d) 2022, e) 2023. If possible, the total number of times a train was delayed or part or fully cancelled due to issues with pests in each of the calendar years a) 2019, b) 2020, c) 2021, d) 2022, e) 2023. If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request. Clarification - could it include offices and/or retail spaces too please. And by trains, I mean all trains operated by TfL.

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-4701-2324

 

Thank you for your revised request received by us on 27 March 2024, asking for information about pest control. 

 

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 do hold some of the information you require.

 

Unfortunately, to provide all the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This appropriate limit applies to both parts of your request.

 

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 exceed the appropriate limit to provide a response to your current request.

 

Firstly, the definition of ‘pests’ is potentially wide and could include anything from vermin, insects to invasive plant species, injurious weeds or tree pathogens. 

  

Furthermore, there is no single source for the information you have requested. TfL has several contracts that involve pest management in its different business areas. The method of apportioning pest control costs varies according to the contract type. For example, in some cases there is a specific contracted service for this and in others, pest control is one element of a fee for a contract that is wider in scope. We estimate that to collate the cost of pest control alone, would exceed the specified threshold.

 

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. For example, you may wish to limit the time period or the location you are requesting the pest control data for. 

   

Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.

 

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

 

Eva Hextall 

 

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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