Cost of legal expenses for tribunal regarding fitness for office: FOI Release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
1. The total amount of legal expenses incurred by the Scottish Government or any relevant authority in relation to the aforementioned tribunal.
2. A breakdown of these expenses, including but not limited to: a. Fees paid to legal counsel or solicitors, KCs etc. b. Costs associated with the hiring of expert witnesses or consultants. c. Any administrative or miscellaneous expenses directly related to the tribunal proceedings. d. Any other relevant expenses incurred during the course of the tribunal.
3. The total cost of the first tribunal?
4. The total cost of the second tribunal into Sheriff Brown?
If possible, please provide the information for each fiscal year in which expenses were accrued, along with any available documentation or receipts substantiating these costs.
Response
1. The total amount of legal expenses incurred in relation to the aforementioned tribunal was £310,738.97. These expenses were incurred by the Scottish Government.
|
Fiscal Year |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
|
|
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£43,483.79 |
£258,334.98 |
£8,920.20 |
2. The total expenses incurred during the course of both tribunals is £436,329.95, the breakdown is shown in the below table.
|
Fiscal Year |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
|
Fees paid to Legal Counsel or Solicitors |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£43,483.79 |
£258,334.98 |
£8,920.20 |
|
Expert witnesses or consultants |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
|
Administrative/ misc expenses of tribunal |
£0 |
£0 |
£7,254.00 |
£0 |
£0 |
£1,217.11 |
£0 |
|
Other relevant tribunal expenses * |
£0 |
£10,704.35 |
£58,029.52 |
£0 |
£0 |
£43,640.00 |
£4,746.00 |
* Other relevant tribunal expenses include members of the tribunal, Investigating Officer and Presenting Officer.
3. The total cost of the first tribunal was £75,987.87.
4. The total cost of the second tribunal was £360,342.08.
I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested in the format you asked for.
Exemption(s) under section 38(1) (personal information) and S36(1) (confidentiality in legal proceedings) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This has meant that we have had to redact some parts of the information which you have requested. Some exemptions are subject to the 'public interest test'. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the relevant exemptions. We have found that the right to confidentiality of communications between a legal adviser and their client on administration of justice grounds outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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