FOI Request for Lawyers Fees and Expenses
Dear Argyll and Bute Council,
I wish to make a Freedom of Information request for information on fees and other expenses paid to:
1 - Law firms and solicitors (and which law firms/solicitors). Can you specify what advice the fee was in relation to please. eg - childcare, housing, roads.
2 - the Scottish Courts Service or Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Can you specify what the fee was for please.
The period I'm seeking the information for is June 2017 to the date of this FOI request
Yours faithfully,
Billy Briggs
Thank you for your email to Argyll and Bute Council in relation to Freedom
of Information Requests. We will endeavour to respond to your email as
soon as possible.
Many Thanks
FOI team
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Argyll and Bute Council's e-mail system (also used by LiveArgyll)
classifies the sensitivity of emails according to the Government Security
Classifications.
Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If
you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for
delivery of the message to such person), you may not disclose, copy or
deliver this message to anyone and any action taken or omitted to be taken
in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.
In such case, you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender
by reply email. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this
message that do not relate to the official business of Argyll and Bute
Council or LiveArgyll shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by
them.
All communications sent to or from Argyll and Bute Council or LiveArgyll
may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.
This email has been scanned for viruses, vandals and malicious content.
Dear Billy Briggs
Request for information: FOI Request for Lawyers Fees and Expenses
Thank you for your information request which we have logged as reference
argyllbuteir:14117.
It has been passed to the relevant service(s) for attention and you should
receive a response under either the Freedom of Information (Scot) Act 2002
or the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 by 2022-05-30
00:00:00. We hope to respond within this timescale but, due to the
staffing/capacity issues with COVID-19, some requests may take little
longer.
Please quote the reference number above in any correspondence you may have
with the Council in regard to this request.
Regards
FOI Officer
Privacy information: Any personal information you have provided in
relation to this request will be used only for the intended purpose -
please read the full privacy notice to find out more about how your
personal information will be handled, and your rights under data
protection legislation.
Classification: OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Briggs
I refer to your request for information below.
In order that I can assist you I would ask that you clarify the
information you are requesting to ensure that you receive the information
that you want. Could you clarify if it is just legal fees incurred by
Solicitors or do they also wish fees incurred by Counsel/Advocates?
I must advise that the timescale for responding to your request will reset
to 20 working days from the date on which I receive clarification of the
terms of your request.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
David Sinclair
Compliance and Regulatory Assistant
Legal and Regulatory Services
01546 604352
Classification: OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Briggs
I refer to your request for information below.
I have been asked to seek further clarification.
Could you clarify what exactly you means by childcare, do you mean the
provision of childcare or do you mean Child Protection. Also with regards
to housing, we don't hold any housing stock so could you clarify what
information you are seeking. Similarly with roads are you requesting
information regarding claims in respect of damage to vehicles or is there
something in particular you would like information on.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
David Sinclair
Compliance and Regulatory Assistant
Legal and Regulatory Services
01546 604352
From: Sinclair, David
Sent: 18 May 2022 16:23
To: [FOI #858130 email]
Cc: '[email address]' <[email address]>
Subject: FOI Request for Lawyers Fees and Expenses argyllbuteir:14117
[OFFICIAL]
Classification: OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Briggs
I refer to your request for information below.
In order that I can assist you I would ask that you clarify the
information you are requesting to ensure that you receive the information
that you want. Could you clarify if it is just legal fees incurred by
Solicitors or do they also wish fees incurred by Counsel/Advocates?
I must advise that the timescale for responding to your request will reset
to 20 working days from the date on which I receive clarification of the
terms of your request.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
David Sinclair
Compliance and Regulatory Assistant
Legal and Regulatory Services
01546 604352
Dear Sinclair, David,
In response to your query, please provide information on all fees paid to external legal firms, and the reasons for the payment. The examples I gave - childcare and housing - are just examples so if they are not applicable then please ignore. This FOI reply is the type of reponse I would like please - www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_113...
Yours sincerely,
Billy Briggs
Classification: OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Briggs
Request for information: Lawyers Fees and Expenses
Reference: argyllbuteir:14117.
I refer to your request for information which was dealt with in terms of
the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
June 2017 onwards:
┌──────────┬────────────┬────────────┐
│Supplier │ │ │
│Name │Analysis │Total │
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│BRODIES │ │ │
│LLP │ │ │
│SOLICITORS│Airports │ 542.50│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Cemeteries │ 1,008.50│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Contract │ │
│ │Management │ 101,289.28│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Conveyancing│ 53,536.90│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Development │ 81,703.20│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Elected │ │
│ │Members │ 19,455.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Fleet │ 5,139.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │HR │ 75,902.71│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Leisure │ 18,694.53│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Licensing │ 1,537.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Litigation │ 64,818.85│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Parks │ 73,715.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Piers & │ │
│ │Harbours │ 24,652.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Procurement │ 8,000.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Property │ │
│ │Services - │ │
│ │Conveyancing│ 58,062.94│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Property │ │
│ │Services - │ │
│ │Litigation │ 119,749.77│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Roads │ 12,463.50│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Shared │ │
│ │Office - │ │
│ │Litigation │ 160,392.80│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Social Work │ 99,263.91│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Utilities │ 24,000.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ │Waste │ │
│ │Collection │ 7,529.00│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│BRODIES │ │ │
│LLP │ │ │
│SOLICITORS│ │ │
│Total │ │1,011,456.39│
├──────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│CMS │ │ │
│CAMERON │ │ │
│MCKENNA │New Schools │ │
│LLP │Project │ 24,759.80│
├──────────┴────────────┼────────────┤
│CMS CAMERON MCKENNA LLP│ │
│Total │ 24,759.80│
├──────────┬────────────┼────────────┤
│Total │ │1,036,216.19│
└──────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
┌─────────┬──────────────┬──────────┐
│Supplier │ │ │
│Name │Analysis │Total │
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│SCOTTISH │ │ │
│COURTS │ │ │
│AND │ │ │
│TRUBUNAL │ │ │
│SERVICE │Conveyancing │ 9.00│
├─────────┴──────────────┼──────────┤
│SCOTTISH COURTS AND │ │
│TRUBUNAL SERVICE Total │ 9.00│
├─────────┬──────────────┼──────────┤
│SCOTTISH │ │ │
│PUBLIC │ │ │
│SERVICES │ │ │
│OMBUDSMAN│Governance │ 150.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Roads & │ │
│ │Infrastructure│ │
│ │Services │ 75.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Scottish │ │
│ │Welfare Fund │ 150.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│SCOTTISH │ │ │
│PUBLIC │ │ │
│SERVICES │ │ │
│OMBUDSMAN│ │ │
│Total │ │ 375.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│THE │ │ │
│SCOTTISH │ │ │
│COURT │ │ │
│SERVICE │Arrestments │ 34,883.28│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Cemeteries │ 264.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Community │ │
│ │Charge │ 2,099.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Council Tax │ 24,857.04│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Development │ 452.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Education │ 1,735.83│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Licensing │ 1,741.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Litigation │ 1,521.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Non Domestic │ │
│ │Rates │ 6,324.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Parking │ 9,926.27│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Property │ │
│ │Services - │ │
│ │Conveyancing │ 127.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Social Work │ 23,995.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ │Utilities │ 132.00│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│THE │ │ │
│SCOTTISH │ │ │
│COURT │ │ │
│SERVICE │ │ │
│Total │ │108,057.42│
├─────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│Total │ │108,441.42│
└─────────┴──────────────┴──────────┘
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request for information
has been dealt with you are entitled to request a review by writing to the
Executive Director Customer Services, Argyll and Bute Council, Kilmory,
Lochgilphead, Argyll PA31 8RT, or by email to [Argyll and Bute Council request email].
Your request for review must state your name and address for
correspondence, specify the request for information to which your request
for review relates and why you are dissatisfied with the response.
You must make your request for review not later than 40 working days after
the expiry of the 20 working day period for response to your initial
request by the Council, or not later than 40 working days after the
receipt by you of the information provided, any fees notice issued or any
notification of refusal or partial refusal.
If you make an application for review and remain dissatisfied with the way
in which the review has been dealt with you are entitled to make an
application to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle,
Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS (Tel: 01334 464610) for a
further review. You can now do this online here -
www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal.
You must make representation to the Scottish Information Commissioner no
later than 6 months after the date of receipt by you of the notice or
decision you are dissatisfied with or within 6 months of the expiry of the
period of 20 working days from receipt by the Council of your request for
review.
Yours sincerely
David Sinclair
Compliance and Regulatory Assistant
Legal and Regulatory Services
01546 604352
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now