Your request of 2 June 2015 asked for the following information:

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Isabel Norman
6 years ago
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Mr Andrew James Wilson By email: request-271546-bb4c8d36@whatdotheyknow.com

1 Mr Andrew James Wilson By Network Rail Freedom of Information The Quadrant Elder Gate Milton Keynes MK9 1EN T E FOI@networkrail.co.uk 30 July 2015 Dear Mr Wilson Internal Review reference number: FOI2015/00476 Original Request reference number: FOI2015/00367 Thank you for your of 27 June 2015, asking for an internal review of the handling of your request for information made on 2 June I apologise for the slight delay in issuing this review response to you. I have considered this matter, and my conclusion is that part of your request has not been handled in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). I will explain my reasons for this conclusion in the body of this letter. Request History Your request of 2 June 2015 asked for the following information: Recent articles in the national press (the right wing Daily Mail for example) have stated that they have been briefed by Network Rail in regard to signallers and electrical controllers earnings, that some are earning up to 111,000 per annum. To put this into some context, could you please tell me for the year ending 31st March 2015:

2 1) How many SIGNALLERS are employed by Network Rail in total? 2) How many grades of signaller are there, and how many signallers are in each grade, and what is the current annual salary by grade? 3) Please list, by grade, what is the lowest wage received, highest wage received and average wage for signallers for financial year ending 31st March 2015? 4) How many ELECTRICAL CONTROL OPERATORS are employed by Network Rail in total? 5) How many grades of ECO are there, and how many ECO s are in each grade, and what is the current salary by grade? 6) Please list, by grade, what is the lowest wage received, highest wage received and average wage for Electrical Control Operators for the financial years ending 31st March 2015? Network Rail responded to the request on 17 June Certain information was disclosed in response to questions 1, 2, 4 and 5. Where questions 2, 3 5 and 6 related to current annual salary, lowest wage, highest wage and average wage by grade, Network rail confirmed that the information was held, but considered that the rates of pay were exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) (personal information). Your request for internal review read: Thank you for your reply. It has been useful, particularly in your highlighting information that Network Rail would rather not reveal. You state that in relation to questions 2, 3, 5 and 6, you feel that rates of pay are exempt from disclosure as this would contravene the Data Protection Act I must point out that I have not asked for any information which would identify any individual either by name or location, and this could not be construed as requesting data which would be deemed personal or sensitive personal information, as detailed in the act. Requesting the actual highest and lowest salaries by grade would require the release of a grand total of TWENTY figures, out of a workforce of 4414 Signallers. The idea that any one individual could be identified from supplying these figures is simply ludicrous.

3 Furthermore your actions in supplying the minimum and maximum salaries would fly in the face of your exemption claim. Given that you have stated that there are 10 grades of signaller then it can be drawn that a Grade 1 Signaller salary is 22, 929 (your minimum figure). It can further be drawn that a Grade 10 Signaller salary is 43, 486. A quick search on Google shows signaller vacancies advertised on Network Rails public website, including a Grade 2 Signaller on 25, 301 and a Grade 3 Signaller on 28, 465. As Network Rail regularly publicly advertises these figures, there are no grounds to withhold said information. In relation to question 3, I would like to clarify that my request in relation to average wage received is in line with the rest of the question and is the average ACTUAL wage, not the average starting salary average which I believe you have provided. I would therefore like to appeal against your reply and request that you answer all of my initial questions honestly and openly, which will allow the public to judge how they compare with the figures leaked to the Mail on Sunday. Issues on review The purpose of Network Rail s internal review procedure is to provide a fair, thorough and independent review of the handling of the applicant s request, and of decisions taken pursuant to FOIA. In this instance, you feel that maximum and minimum salaries should be disclosed as you believe that this is not personal data and that advertised salaries are publicly available. You also requested clarification of the information which had been disclosed in relation to question 3 of your request. Decision Some information which you requested on 2 June 2015 (the number of employees in each grade) was not provided in our response of 17 June 2015 and I apologise for this error. In response to question 2 of your original request: How many grades of signaller are there, and how many signallers are in each grade, and what is the current annual salary by grade? As previously disclosed, there are 10 grades of Signallers. The number of employees in each grade and the spot rate for each grade are below. Please note that the spot

4 rate may not be the same as minimum earnings in some cases (e.g. if an individual started work part way through the year): Grade Number of employees in Spot rate salary ( ) grade SIG ,929 SIG ,301 SIG ,465 SIG ,044 SIG ,209 SIG ,184 SIG ,951 SIG ,324 SIG ,907 SIG ,486 In response to question 5 of your original request: How many grades of [Electrical Control Operators (ECO)] are there, and how ECO s are in each grade, and what is the current annual salary by grade? As previously disclosed, there are 7 grades of ECO. The number of employees in each grade and the spot rate for each grade are below. Please note that the spot rate may not be the same as minimum earnings in some cases (e.g. if an individual started work part way through the year): Grade Number of employees in Spot rate salary ( ) grade ECO ,520 ECO ,351 ECO ,779 ECO ,214 ECO ,740 ECO ,168 Minimum and maximum salaries You have explained that you feel that it is ludicrous that any individual could be identified if the minimum and maximum salary for each grade of signaller and ECO. was disclosed.

5 However, the issue is whether the information could be combined with other information to enable it to be linked to an individual, which would mean it would be personal data according to the Data Protection Act Disclosure under FOIA places information into the public domain and the issue is whether making information available to any individual could lead to salary information being associated with individual employees. It is Network Rail s view that there are a large number of Network Rail employees with sufficient existing knowledge to enable the linkage of salaries to identifiable individuals. Network Rail employees can search for signallers and ECOs within the address book in Microsoft Outlook or within the organisation chart which is available on the company s intranet, Connect. The organisation chart includes information about each individual s grade. As disclosed above, there are a relatively small number of individuals in each grade. It is Network Rail s view that it would be possible for a determined individual to link a maximum and minimum salary to identifiable employees, using knowledge of key factors such as job level and an individual s length of service. Although your request for an internal review states that the possibility of identifying any one individual is ludicrous, the fourth paragraph of your request indicates how information disclosed under FOIA can be used as a starting point to draw further conclusions about salaries. Network Rail does not believe that individual signallers and ECOs would have a reasonable expectation that their salaries would be disclosed under FOIA. In general, an employee would hold a very strong expectation that their employer would not disclose details of their salary. In relation to signallers and ECOs, these roles are not public-facing and individual employees in these roles would not reasonably expect that their salaries would be subject to disclosure under FOIA and public scrutiny, particularly as Network Rail and the trade unions were able to reach agreement on a pay settlement in the negotiations held earlier this year. I therefore conclude that the decision to withhold minimum and maximum salaries under section 40(2) of FOIA was correct. Average salary Your request for an internal review included the following paragraph: In relation to question 3, I would like to clarify that my request in relation to average wage received is in line with the rest of the question and is the average

6 ACTUAL wage, not the average starting salary average which I believe you have provided. I confirm that the information disclosed on 17 June 2015 related to average, maximum and minimum salary, excluding any additional payments such as overtime; this was based on our objective reading of your request. While this was not indicated in your original request, please contact us again if it is the case that by wages you did not intend salary information, but rather that you sought information about total earnings; total earnings are defined as salary plus any additional payments such as overtime. If so, we will consider this as a new request for information under FOIA. Next steps If you are not content with the outcome of this internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF Please remember to quote the reference number at the top of this letter in all future communications. Yours sincerely Dr Lou Lander FOI Manager, Compliance & Appeals

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) received on 30 th April 2017, seeking the following information:

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) received on 30 th April 2017, seeking the following information: British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 B6 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email foi@bbc.co.uk Information Policy & Compliance bbc.co.uk/foi bbc.co.uk/privacy