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Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.025934
I note you seek access to the following information:
The number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued for cycling offences in London, grouped by category (eg riding though a red light, cycling in a ‘non designated area’), location (eg Kensington Gardens) and cost of penalty fee, for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and so far in 2022.
Can I please request this data in calendar years.
Can you also confirm what the financial penalty is for a Fixed Penalty Notice for each of those years.
I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 40(2)&(3) – Personal Information
Reason for decision
Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information - provides that any information to which a request for information relates, is exempt information if the first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) is satisfied. The first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) states that personal information is exempt if its disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. If the disclosure of the requested personal data would not contravene the data protection principles, the disclosure must also not contravene Sections 3A(b) and 3B of the Act.
There are six principles that are set out in Article 5(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that dictate when the processing of personal data is lawful. The first principle requires that any processing of personal data must be lawful, fair and transparent. Under Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, the disclosure of personal data is considered to be lawful if:
a. There is a legitimate interest in the disclosure of that personal data.
b. The disclosure of the personal data is necessary to meet that legitimate interest.
c. The disclosure would not cause unwarranted harm to the data subject.
Having considered the release of information relating to the location where the TORs were issued I have found, having considered the legitimate interest test, that:
a. The disclosure of this information would satisfy an identifiable legitimate interest, this being it will show the MPS actively tackling cycling offences.
b. However, it would not be in the public interest to show the exact locations where cycling offences have been issued. This would serve no legitimate interest as showing the location where the TORs were issued would lead to the identification of individuals.
c. Publication of location data would inadvertently lead to identification of individuals when linked to other information that may already in the public domain. In this regard, I believe that disclosure of this personal data would be likely to cause unwarranted harm.
The provision to refuse access to information under Section 40(2)(a)(b) and (3A)(a) of the Act is both absolute and class based. When this exemption is claimed, it is accepted that harm would result from disclosure. There is accordingly no requirement to demonstrate what that harm may be in refusing access to information.
Disclosure
Please see the excel sheet showing the number of Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) issued for cycling offences in London, grouped by category.
We can also confirm that the fine for cycling offence is £50.00 and the offence is a non-endorsable offence. We are however, unable to comment on the yearly amount of money generated for the offence as a percentage of the cases would have gone through the courts and we would not know the court outcomes/results of those cases.
Further, all fines are paid to His Majesty’s Treasury Department and you will need to contact them direct for this part of your request.