ET Costs

The request was partially successful.

Dear Isle of Anglesey Council,

I would like to know how much the Council has spent outsourcing to either Barristers Chambers or Solicitors at Employment Tribunals for all Council Staff (including Teaching Staff). Any combination of those below, between 1st August 2000 and the 31 October 2010:

1) For constructive dismissal
2) Unfair dismissal
3) One (or more) of the various discrimination claims and/or under the Protection from Harassment Act
4) Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
5) Any other Employment issues, I may have omitted.

Please name the Solicitors/Barristers that the Council have outsourced to: For example, 2010 Number Name.

I would request that you include VAT in the figures Please provide the figures in the following format e.g. 2006 – NUMBER HERE; 2007 – NUMBER HERE; 2008 – NUMBER HERE; 2010 – NUMBER HERE; etc, thus making it easier for one to read and to ensure there is no misunderstandings.

Please also send this information as "calendar years".
Please note that I do not seek or require any personal information such as names and addresses – only the total figures.

I would ask that you remember the statutory duty imposed upon public authorities by virtue of Section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act to provide advice and assistance to requesters. If for any reason you are leaning toward rejecting any part of this request or if you plan to argue that it is unmanageable or unanswerable in any way then I would expect you to contact me promptly to find ways to answer this request to our mutual satisfaction.

Yours faithfully,

V Gray

LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

Thank you for your recent request for information held by Isle of
Anglesey County Council. For your information, this is not an
automatically generated response.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004, we aim to respond to your
request within 20 working days. In some instances we may be unable to
achieve this deadline, in which case we will advise you of the likely
timescale within which the response will be provided.

Yours sincerely

Beryl Jones
Information Compliance Officer

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Dear Beryl Jones

Thank you for your message. I look forward to receiving the correct information.

Yours sincerely,

V Gray

LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

Dear V. Gray,
Further to your FOI request dated 16.1.11, I would advise you that
following extensive enquiries, I have discovered that the authority
does not have one running list of the information you requested. Each
service area would begin any such proceedings which would then involve
Personnel, Legal and Finance. However, not one of the Services keeps a
running register - information is arranged by client files. To provide
you with a list as requested would require the creation of new
information. The authority obviously does not require this information
to be kept in such a format and therefore, for the purpose of S. 1 of
the FOIA, the information you request is not “held”.

The FOIA provides a right of access to information held at the time a
request is made. The Act does not require research to be undertaken to
effectively create new information.

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this response to your
request for information, and / or the decision made to withhold
information, you may ask for an internal review. Please address your
correspondence to the Customer Care Officer, Legal Services, Council
Offices, Llangefni, Ynys Môn LL77 7TW (E-mail:
[email address]).

If you are not content with the outcome of any internal review you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe
House, Water Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF. Please note that the Information
Commissioner is likely to expect internal review procedures to have been
exhausted before beginning his investigation.

Regards,
Beryl Jones
Information Compliance Officer.

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Dear LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

The information I requested is basic clerical research. I suggest you contact the Director: Mr David Elis-Williams, David can ask one of the clerical staff to run a report on the database and I am sure they will find the correct information, as all council financial procedures have to be adhered to.

One would also clarify that when one was referring to total cost thus was for each Solicitor/Barrister for each year’s work. I am not requesting information to be provided on a spreadsheet or any other office format, a word document will suffice.

If the files are manual files held in what the Data Protection Act, refers to as a "Manual relevant structured filing system," one would expect it would take at most a minute to extract a file from a cabinet, open it, turn up the Employment Tribunal tab and glance at the sheet and scribble a note if the file refers to Name of Solicitor/Barrister and put it back again.

The "relevant cost limit" from Section 12 is £400 or two and a half days work. By those figures, one would expect you to be able to review 1000 files in that time.

I am mindful that Anglesey Council have cited the ‘costs’ exemption, yet section 16 of FOISA imposes a duty to provide advice and assistance. Yet Anglesey Council have not done so. Anglesey Council
have done nothing to assist me in seeking to find a way that would help me obtain the information I am requesting. Therefore, if the information exists, Anglesey Council are required to disclose it
unless an exemption applies. I am mindful that Anglesey Council have cited the ‘costs’ exemption, yet section 16 of FOISA imposes a duty
to provide advice and assistance. Anglesey Council have not done so.

Anglesey Council have done nothing to assist me in seeking to find a way that would help me obtain the information I am requesting.

Therefore the only conclusion I can draw is that Anglesey Council are purposefully seeking to conceal the number of cases that have been outsourced to Barrister/Solicitors within their organisation.

Please undertake to have the decision reviewed by a senior officer not involved in making the original decision and communicate their response within the relevant timescale on this website.

The internal review should be an independent, impartial review based on the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and associated case law. It is not an emotive proceeding where personal
views or opinions on the requester are to be given any weight. It should be fair and objective and should there be any suggestion of anything to the contrary, be assured the matter will be taken before the Information Commissioner and if necessary the
Information Tribunal.

I would remind you that by law you have a legal obligation to respond truthfully and not try to hide the Tribunal figures...be honest and open and prove you have nothing to hide.

Yours sincerely,

V Gray

LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

2 Attachments

Dear V. Gray,
Please see attached letter and report following the Internal Review.

Regards

Beryl Jones

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Dear LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

It is apparent from your response that you are not prepared to say how much you have paid in legal fees of Solicitor/Barrister for the cost of Employment Tribunal.

I am extremely concerned by your response the fact that you are unable to provide financial information for even one year suggests financial malpractices. What happens when the auditors carry out a review...is it the same response...everything is in code?

I shall not waste any more of my time discussing the merits of a simple request of which you have failed to respond. It is immaterial that because of your incompetent filing system your are unable to locate the relevant information. The fact is you outsourced to Barrister/Solicitors and you have failed to provide the correct information. Therefore, the only conclusion I can draw is that Anglesey Council are purposefully seeking to conceal the total cost as the fees are so high and you do not want the taxpayers of Anglesey to know.

I suggest you re read the legislation on the FOIA section 16 as it is apparent from your response you are not adhering to the concept of this legislation.

Yours sincerely,

V Gray

LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

Dear V. Gray,
Our response demonstrated that we are unable to answer your specific
questions.

We can however provide you with the total cost for legal fees, with the
caveat that this sum includes information which is broader in scope than
the focus of your questions.

The sums paid in external legal fees for the last 4 years are as
follows:-

2007 / 08 =£198,762.90
2008/09 = £221,482.10
2009/10 = £128,918.74
2010/ 11 (to date) = £137,570.47

Regards,

Beryl Jones

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Dear LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

Please provide the name of the Solicitors/Barristers whom provided these services.

Yours sincerely,

V Gray

LEGA LPOLICY CYFRAITH POLISI,

Dear V. Gray,
As noted previously, we are unable to provide any information in answer
to your specific request as set out in our refusal notice.
Your supplementary question is repeated and therefore refused under S.
14 (2).

I consider that we have now exhausted this issue and have satisfied our
statutory duty to provide you with reasonable advice and assistance.
Since the Council has nothing further to add I would consider that this
matter is now closed.

Regards

Beryl Jones

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david phillips left an annotation ()

We all know anglesey council are crooks and are the worst descriminators in north wales.If you arnt a wesh nationalist prepare to be descriminated against..I would erdge anyone who is looking at moving to the area and is hoping for employment by the public sector not to bother.Althogh the welsh language act 1993 states that the people of wales should be able to live there llives through the medium of welsh.This comment surgests that therfore you should also be able to live your life in wales through the medium of english.Only 12% of poeple living in wales concider themselfs to be fluent in welsh.Yet anglesey council feel that this is an essencial atribute for working in a recycling plant.surely this is unfair and perhaps ilegal.Any info on this matter would be interesting and usfull thanx d p