Received: 22 May 2019

Please could you provide me with a copy of the policy regarding the funding of legal fees for ex-officers who are no longer serving in any police force.

The information should include the following scenarios please:

1. An officer who has left the force and is now working in the private sector (not policing related) who is seeking assistance to pay legal fees for a legal claim made against them in relation to a private matter (ie nothing to do with their time when they were a serving officer)
2. An officer who has left the force and is now working in the private sector (not policing related) who is seeking assistance to pay legal fees for a legal claim made against them in relation to a matter from the time when they were a serving officer (ie the claim has a direct link to their job as a police officer although they may have left the force many years ago).

I am most interested in information related to funding legal fees where the claim has no relation to any policing matter and the claim is made in relation to an incident that occurred after the officer had left the force and has no relation to the force or any policing matter.

It is likely you have a policy that deals with all of the above, and if this is the case I am happy at this time to dig through the policy if you can direct me to a copy.

Responded: 7 June 2019

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) can confirm that it does hold this information, but we are exempting it under Section 21 Freedom of Information Act 2000 as it is reasonably accessible by other means: ICO Guidance.

The information you have asked for is available on the PFEW website (https://www.polfed.org/media/13710/pfew-rules-2018.pdf), more specifically on page 69 point item 23