Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I seek the following information. Please provide: 1. Any reports relating to rough sleeping on the transport network since the January 2016 update of “Sleepers on the Bus Network” For the years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18, please provide: 2. Each report of a rough sleeper on the transport network, with the date it was recorded, the nearest station or indeed mode of transport e.g. a bus, the tube, and any other easily retrievable information about the incident such as ethnicity and gender of the rough sleeper If the decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in the Data Protection Act 1998, please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used. If some parts of this request are easier to answer than others, I would ask that you release the available data as soon as possible. If you need any clarification then please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d like to remind you that Under Section 16 it is your duty to provide advice and assistance and so I would expect you to contact me if you find this request unmanageable in any way. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you within the 20-working day statutory time period.

---

Our ref:           FOI-4837-1718/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 9 March 2018 asking for information about rough sleepers on the transport network.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. You asked:

Please provide:

1. Any reports relating to rough sleeping on the transport network since the January 2016 update of “Sleepers on the Bus Network”

For the years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18, please provide:

1. Each report of a rough sleeper on the transport network, with the date it was recorded, the nearest station or indeed mode of transport e.g. a bus, the tube, and any other easily retrievable information about the incident such as ethnicity and gender of the rough sleeper

We do not hold the information you have requested. TfL is committed to working with the Mayor’s Office and homeless charities to identify and support rough sleepers that seek refuge on the transport system. Our staff regularly intervene and provide valuable assistance to these people, the interventions will include putting them in contact with the appropriate outreach team or support service and in some cases when appropriate, the police.

As part of our efforts to help safeguard rough sleepers on our transport networks, we are part-funding Thames Reach, a homelessness outreach charity, in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office to identify and engage with rough sleepers on the transport network. The aim is to get a clearer picture of the extent and causes of rough sleeping that affects the transport network and to develop ‘joined up’ engagement methods with other agencies such as housing to provide support to these people.

At present rough sleeping on the transport system can be reported in a number of ways, however there is currently no central database for recording this information. On many occasions rough sleeping would be reported directly to StreetLink or Thames Outreach, charities commissioned by the Mayor’s Office to deliver outreach services.

We are currently reviewing our reporting processes to provide a more accurate picture of rough sleeping across the TfL transport network and to have central oversight of the different activities underway to help rough sleepers across the TfL networks.

Please accept our apologies that we are unable to assist you further on this occasion.

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

Back to top

---