Dear Sir or Madam,

What have been the external legal costs associated with the Case
No: CO/12241/2008 which was heard in the High Court in June
relating to a so-called meta-request? By this I mean all the
payments you have made for legal advice and representation in the
preparation of the case as well as similar costs in relation to the
case at the Information Tribunal. I would like copies of any
receipts you hold.

Yours faithfully,

Matthew Davis

Link: [1]File-List

13th July 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0258740

Dear Mr Davis

Thank you for your email dated 13 July 2009 in which you have made a
request for information to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Your request is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond by 10 August 2009 which is 20
working days from the day after we received your request.

Yours sincerely

Joanne Crowley

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

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http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/radACA7E_files/filelist.xml

Link: [1]File-List

4th August 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0258740

Dear Mr Davies

I am writing with reference to your request for information dated 13 July
2009.  As you are aware we have dealt with your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000.

Request

What have been the external legal costs associated with the Case
No: CO/12241/2008 which was heard in the High Court in June
relating to a so-called meta-request? By this I mean all the
payments you have made for legal advice and representation in the
preparation of the case as well as similar costs in relation to the
case at the Information Tribunal. I would like copies of any
receipts you hold.

Information Held

Please find attached copies of two invoices for external legal advice
which total £6095.00 relating to this case.  You should be aware that as
the High Court appeal was only concluded recently in the last few weeks
there will be further associated costs.  At the time of your request
however we had received and therefore held only these two invoices.  You
will also note that some of the information from these invoices has been
redacted.

Information Withheld

There are two areas that have been redacted from the forms as the
information is exempt.

The first area is the breakdown of the cost for the work carried out. 
This information is exempt under Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  This states that:

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this act would
be likely or likely to, prejudice the commercial interest of any person
(including the public authority).

This is not an absolute exemption and requires that we carry out a public
interest test maintaining the exemption.  In this particular case we
consider that the factors in favour of disclosing this information are:

o Promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

Factors for maintaining the exemption and withholding the information are:

o Disclosing the breakdown of costs would be likely to prejudice our
commercial interests in that we are at present actively seeking to
instruct Counsel from other chambers. Revealing the rates that we have
agreed to pay for this particular legal advice would prejudice our
ability to negotiate rates from other chambers.
o Without the ability to negotiate rates from other chambers may mean
having to pay a higher rate and thus a higher spend of public money.

Therefore, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption for the breakdown of fees outweighs the public
interest in disclosing the information.

We have also redacted the description of work details on the invoices and
we consider that this information is exempt under Section 42 (1) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  Section 42 (1) states:

Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege or
in Scotland, to confidentiality of communication could not be maintained
in legal proceedings is exempt information.

Again, this is not an absolute exemption and requires that we carry out a
public interest test in maintaining the exemption.  In this particular
case we consider that the factors in favour of disclosing this information
are:

o Increase transparency about the way in which the decisions are made by
the office in particular in relation to seeking external legal advice.

The factors for maintain the exemption and withholding this information
are:

o The description of work items reveals the Information Commissioners
Office’s tactical and strategic approach to this case which is a
matter between solicitor and client which is therefore subject to
legal professional privilege. Whilst the information in this
particular case might not be considered to reveal a great deal, if
compared against the same information in another case it would reveal
the wider tactical and strategic approach of the ICO to Tribunal and
High Court litigation. The fact of, and timing of, telephone
conferences are especially revealing of tactical and strategic
thinking in that it would indicate the weight of the Information
Commissioners Office’s legal teams consideration of key points in
the case. The fact of various amendments to skeleton arguments,
followed by telephone conferences, reveals the existence of concerns
either on the part of Counsel / solicitor or client which is
privileged.

Therefore, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption for the description of work items outweighs the
public interest in disclosing the information.

I hope the information that has been provided to you is of interest and
assistance.  However, If you are dissatisfied with the response you have
received and wish to request a review of our decision or make a complaint
about how your request has been handled you should write to the Internal
Compliance Team at the address below or e-mail
[2][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Charlotte Powell

Internal Compliance Manager

show quoted sections

http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad2F33D_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]