30 October 2017 – 0685.2017-18 – Costs of tribunal hearing at Barnsley Law Courts

Request

…information rights tribunal hearing at Barnsley Law Courts yesterday (EA/2017/0076).

Please provide a statement of the total cost expended by the PCC’s office and the CDU in defending the appeal since it was first made in May 2017.

The sum should include both internal and external costs and a split between the two.

The costs should include the amount spent on counsel at the hearing yesterday.

Clarification received 20/10/2017
I would like to know the staff costs, an estimate is sufficient. I know that other FOI’s for far more complex cases have been responded to with staff time on cases. Your best efforts will be sufficient.

Response

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

The total costs expended by the Joint Corporate Legal Service and external Counsel in relation to the Tribunal hearing EA/2017/0076 was £3,481.83. This is for the period 13 April and 29 September 2017.

The total includes an estimated cost of £381.83 for internal costs and £3,100 for external legal fees (inclusive of VAT), which includes work done prior to the hearing and representation on the day.

Staff time in dealing with these matters is not recorded as a matter of routine course, therefore the estimated internal costs have been calculated by reviewing the work carried out within the legal file against the staff hourly rates (plus on costs).

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.