Legal Expenses paid to an Elected Member in 2024

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37084818

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 11 January
2025.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 11 February 2025.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information you have
requested we will advise you accordingly in our response.  We will also
provide you with details of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Should you require anything further please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
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disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
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References

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Dear Andrew Baikie,

We are contacting you to inform you that, unfortunately, your enquiry will
be delayed. We are actively working on providing you with a response to
your request and  we will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Team

London Borough of Newham

Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road,  London E16 2QU

[1][Newham Council request email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: London Borough of Newham<[Newham Council request email]>
Sent: 13/01/2025 17:54
To: [FOI #1224312 email]
Subject: Information request
 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37084818

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 11 January
2025.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 11 February 2025.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information you have
requested we will advise you accordingly in our response.  We will also
provide you with details of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Should you require anything further please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[2][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

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1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]
2. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37084818

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 14 January 2025.
Please do accept our apologies for the delay.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37923417

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 15
February 2025.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 18 March 2025.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information you have
requested we will advise you accordingly in our response.  We will also
provide you with details of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Should you require anything further please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37923417

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 

We are contacting you to provide an update on your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act.

We had hoped to be in a position to respond to you but unfortunately this
will not be possible as we are still considering the disclosure of the
information you requested in light of the requirements of the Act and in
relation to third parties involved. For complex cases, the Information
Commissioners Office recommend request can be extended for a further 20
working days.

For this request we will need additional time for its full completion and
will now aim to respond to you by 14 April 2025, although we will
endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

 
Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37923417

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 18 February 2025.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 37923417

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Andrew Baikie
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 16 April 2025. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 19 May 2025. There may be circumstances
where more time is required. If this is the case, we will contact you to
explain and provide a reasonable timescale.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

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1. mailto:[newham%20council%20request%20email]

Dear Andrew

I am carrying out an internal review with regards to a request that you
made to the London Borough of Newham for information relating to your FOI
request.

I am writing to apologise that a response was not sent to you on the 19^th
May 2025 and advise that I need to extend the deadline in order to
conclude my review. 

I will endeavour to get a response to you as soon as possible and in any
case no later than Monday 9^th June 2025 .

I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Kind regards

Angie

Angela Harding | Senior Information Governance Officer

Information Assurance

one source - working on behalf of Havering and Newham councils

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This communication is sent by oneSource on behalf of the London Borough of
Havering or the London Borough of Newham. The views expressed in it are
not necessarily the views of any of the councils.

This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
use the reply function to inform us and then permanently delete the email.

The email has been scanned for viruses before it was sent and on leaving
the councils was found to be virus free. Incoming and outgoing emails are
routinely monitored for compliance with the councils’ policies on the use
of electronic communications. Action may be taken against any malicious or
deliberate attempts to infect the councils’ networks.

The information contained in this email may be subject to public
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless this
information is legally exempt from disclosure the confidentiality of this
email and your reply cannot be guaranteed. Email is not considered a
secure medium for communication and we advise that you understand and
accept this lack of security when communicating with us by email.

Privacy Notice can be found on our website Data Protection
https://onesource.co.uk/privacy-and-poli... , which outlines your rights
and how we collect, use, store, delete and protect your personal data.

Dear Andrew

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Internal Review

Subject: Panel – Legal Expenses

I write following your request for an Internal Review of the Council’s
response to your enquiry for information held by the Council under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Initial Request made under current Case Reference: 37923417

Direct Follow on from response given under FOI Ref: 37084818

1) Which Elected Members constituted the cross party "Panel of senior
Elected Members " ?

2) Which Elected Members supported the payment of the said expenses?

3) Which Elected Members opposed payment of the said expenses?

Response

1. The cross party panel of senior elected members was comprised of Cllr
Sarah Ruiz (Deputy Statutory Mayor), Cllr Rohima Rahman (Chair of
Council), Cllr Nate Higgins (Green Group Leader), Cllr Mehmood Mirza
(Leader of Newham Independents Group), Cllr Anthony McAlmont (Chair of
Overview & Scrutiny).

2. This information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with Section
42, 41 and 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Section 42 - Legal professional privilege

We consider the legal advice extended in respect of litigation to be
legally privileged. This exemption is subject to the public interest test.
It is acknowledged that there is a valid interest in public authorities
being held accountable for the quality of their decision making. Equally,
ensuring those decisions have been made on the basis of appropriate legal
advice is part of that accountability. Transparency in the decision making
process and access to the information upon which decisions have been made
can enhance accountability.

On the other hand, we consider it paramount that the legal adviser is able
to present the full picture of opposing assessments and views to any
situation, to ensure a fair, balanced and informed conclusion is reached.
On this basis, we consider that disclosure would not be in the public
interest as doing so would compromise the process and effective receipt of
independent legal advice, thus impacting on our ability to discharge our
public functions in future situations. It is the very nature of legal
advice that it should set out all possible arguments both for and against
a particular view, weighing up their relative merits and this legal
evaluation should be protected to ensure sound legal advice is received by
the authority.

For these reasons, we maintain it is in the public interest not to release
the information requested.

Section 41 - Confidentiality

Information that has been provided in confidence to the Council is exempt
from disclosure under Section 41(b) of the Act. The application of this
exemption is absolute and therefore not subject to the public interest
test.

Due to this matter being subject to litigation, we are unable to release
this information. Disclosure of this information would leave the London
Borough of Newham open to further legal action for breach of confidence
owed to the parties concerned, their legal team and possibly the Panel
involved in this matter, if confidential details about payment and the
discussions around this were released to the general public.

Section 40(2) – Personal Information

We find that disclosure regarding the Panel’s decision around the payment
in question would result in their personal and private information being
disclosed, which would therefore contravene data protection principles,
which requires that personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully
by the London Borough of Newham under GDPR.

3. For the reasons stated above, this information is exempted.

Your reason for requesting an Internal Review

I am writing to request an internal review of Newham Borough Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Legal Expenses paid to an Elected Member in
2024'.

Thank you for your information regarding the identity of the Elected
Members on the Member Group, Panel, etc.

In the course of FOI responses to other enquirers,  LB Newham Officers,
...and the position they took with respect to agreement of the payment of
legal expenses to the Elected Mayor, --has been stated and is therefore in
the public domain.

LB Newham  Officers, ... are not, ... Elected Representatives

LB Newham Councillors, .... are, ... Elected Representatives

Therefore the position (in support of, against, abstension, no opinion )
of ..accountable Elected Representatives should also be disclosed.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[1]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Findings

I have reviewed the response sent to you previously and the reasons given
by you as to why you are dissatisfied with the response.  Following my
review I am satisfied that the exemptions have been correctly applied and
detailed data requested will not will not be disclosed as they are covered
by Section 42 - Legal professional privilege, Section 41 –
Confidentiality and 40(2) – Personal Data under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.   

I would like to add some context to the response sent: Detailed content of
legally privileged negotiations/discussions, relating to a legally binding
settlement agreement, retain their status irrespective of the role that
any individuals involved in the process holds. This relates to elected
representatives and non-elected representatives and/or officers.   .

I note that you have made reference that this data is already in the
public domain, we do not have any evidence of this, however if you can
provide us with evidence I will be happy to review the disclosure of this
data.

With regards to the link provided in relation to a previous request we
don’t see the relevance to this point that is being alluded. 

In conclusion your appeal has been not upheld. 

Should you remain dissatisfied with this response you have the right to
contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at:
[2]https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/

Please quote the reference number 37923417 in any future communications.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact
me [3][email address]

Kind regards

Angie

Angela Harding | Senior Information Governance Officer

Information Assurance

one source - working on behalf of Havering and Newham councils

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This communication is sent by oneSource on behalf of the London Borough of
Havering or the London Borough of Newham. The views expressed in it are
not necessarily the views of any of the councils.

This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
use the reply function to inform us and then permanently delete the email.

The email has been scanned for viruses before it was sent and on leaving
the councils was found to be virus free. Incoming and outgoing emails are
routinely monitored for compliance with the councils’ policies on the use
of electronic communications. Action may be taken against any malicious or
deliberate attempts to infect the councils’ networks.

The information contained in this email may be subject to public
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless this
information is legally exempt from disclosure the confidentiality of this
email and your reply cannot be guaranteed. Email is not considered a
secure medium for communication and we advise that you understand and
accept this lack of security when communicating with us by email.

Privacy Notice can be found on our website Data Protection
https://onesource.co.uk/privacy-and-poli... , which outlines your rights
and how we collect, use, store, delete and protect your personal data.

References

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2. https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/
3. mailto:[email%20address]