Received: 23 February 2024

Please provide the following information under FOI.

- details of solicitor/legal firms used by PFEW that are used for purposes outside of standard claims ( so not including those that assist with Member criminal and civil claims) and for what purpose.

- the cost of the services provided to PFEW by the above firms for the years:

2020 - 2021

2021 - 2022

2022 - 2023

2023 - 2024

2024 to date

Responded: 26 March 2024

The Police Federation of England and Wales ("PFEW") relies on section 12 of the Freedom of  Information Act 2000 ("FOIA") in response to the above request. This allows public authorities to refuse to comply with a request for information where the cost of compliance exceeds a statutory limit (known as the "Appropriate Limit").  At present the Appropriate Limit is set at £450 by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 (see Reg. 3(3)). The cost of compliance is to be calculated based on a rate of £25 per person per hour (Reg. 4(3)). This means that the Appropriate Limit will be exceeded if it would require more than 18 hours of work.  

In the period 2020-2024, the PFEW has engaged at least 69 solicitors/legal firms (not including barristers chambers). The work undertaken by these firms includes but is not limited to:

1. Advising Members on criminal or civil claims ("Member Claims").
2. Advising PFEW in relation to civil claims brought by it against it.
3. Advising PFEW in relation to non-contentious matters – for instance advice in relation to regulatory matters, financial matters, and campaigns and projects.

In relation to 1 above, the PFEW retains a "panel" of law firms who are typically engaged to advise in relation to Member Claims. However, on occasion panel firms are engaged for other work not related to Member Claims. In addition, firms which are not panel firms are occasionally engaged to advise in relation to Member Claims.

In some cases, legal costs for which the PFEW is liable for are covered by insurance. However, in these cases, the PFEW is generally required to pay the relevant excess of its insurance policy (which means paying the legal fees up to the point at which the excess is reached) as well as paying applicable VAT element of all fees incurred. The VAT is not recoverable by the PFEW. The excess and VAT are therefore costs incurred by PFEW.

In order to respond to your request, the PFEW would need to:

a. Consider the costs incurred by each of the at least 69 law firms engaged by the PFEW since 1 January 2020.

b. For costs which have been incurred pursuant to insurance cover, determine the excess/VAT paid to calculate the total "cost" to the PFEW.

c. In respect of all costs, determine whether they were incurred in relation to Member Claims and can therefore be discounted from the response.

d. For all costs incurred otherwise than in relation to Member Claims, determine the form of work undertaken and the level of costs incurred for this work.

e. Compile a list of all firms which have undertaken work otherwise than in relation to Member Claims, and a list of the different forms of the work undertaken (i.e. "for what purpose" the work was undertaken).

f. Against each firm listed, calculate and set out the total cost for work undertaken otherwise than in relation to Member Claims for each calendar year.

This would be a significant task, and one which we consider would easily exceed 18 hours of work. Even if one hour were allocated to each firm (in many cases more than one hour would be required) then this would amount to 69 hours. Therefore, the Appropriate Limit would be well exceeded.

In reliance upon section 12 of FOIA, the PFEW accordingly declines to respond to your request.

If, on the basis of the information provided to you above, you wish to refine your request then the PFEW will consider any such refined request.  Please note that we reserve the right to rely on additional exemptions under FOIA as applicable