Further costs directions issued in EA/2016/0054 (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) following Upper Tribunal appeal [2019] UKUT 305

Further costs directions issued in EA/2016/0054 (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) following Upper Tribunal appeal [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC)                                              By John Brace (Editor) and Leonora Brace (Co-Editor) Due to the ongoing nature of this costs application in the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), comments are turned off. Following the … Continue reading “Further costs directions issued in EA/2016/0054 (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) following Upper Tribunal appeal [2019] UKUT 305”

Further costs directions issued in EA/2016/0054 (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) following Upper Tribunal appeal [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC)

                                            

By John Brace (Editor)
and
Leonora Brace (Co-Editor)

Janet Henshaw (centre, former Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Monitoring Officer) December 2016 talking to councillors about costs in EA/2016/0054 at a public meeting of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Policy and Resources Committee (15th December 2016)
Janet Henshaw (centre, former Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Monitoring Officer) December 2016 talking to councillors about costs in EA/2016/0054 at a public meeting of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Policy and Resources Committee (15th December 2016).

Due to the ongoing nature of this costs application in the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), comments are turned off.

Following the £500 costs order being overturned on appeal on two grounds by Upper Tribunal Judge Wikeley in October 2019, see [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) and it being sent back to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) to be re-decided by a different First-tier Tribunal Judge, First-tier Tribunal Judge McMillan has issued further directions (dated 2nd June 2020) regarding MFRA’s costs application made in September 2016. The case reference number is EA/2016/0054 (although the order incorrectly states EA/2020/0054).

Continue reading “Further costs directions issued in EA/2016/0054 (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) following Upper Tribunal appeal [2019] UKUT 305”

What was the Upper Tribunal decision in [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority)?

What was the Upper Tribunal decision in [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority)?

What was the Upper Tribunal decision in [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority)?

                           

I won my Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) appeal, which has been some good news in the last week. It means the earlier First-tier Tribunal costs decision award of £500 in favour of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority has been set aside and has to be re-determined.

The case reference number is [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) or Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. I won on two points of law (one information rights, one welfare benefits rights).
Continue reading “What was the Upper Tribunal decision in [2019] UKUT 305 (AAC) (Brace v Information Commissioner and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority)?”

Are you interested in 385 pages about the Saughall Massie Fire Station project?

Are you interested in 385 pages about the Saughall Massie Fire Station project?

Are you interested in 385 pages about the Saughall Massie Fire Station project?

                                                   

This continues from an earlier blog post which contains the first 44 pages of the bundle for case EA/2016/0054.

Below are pages 45 to 429 of the bundle for the hearing last year.

Since that time, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services’ planning application has been refused by Wirral Council and a revised planning application submitted earlier this year has yet to be determined.

Photos on the valuation reports written by Hardie Brack have been removed and so has the First-tier Tribunal crest on First-tier Tribunal orders.

There are some typographical errors in the pages below.

Documents originally in colour have been converted to black and white for the bundle.

The current planning application (APP/17/00306) can be read on Wirral Council’s website.

Despite this matter being ended by consent order in September 2016, eight months later there are sub judice matters involving costs.

I therefore will not be commenting on those matters until they are resolved.

The revised planning application is expected to be on the agenda of Wirral Council’s Planning Committee for a public meeting on the 22nd June 2017 and if the Planning Committee decides on a site visit it will be finally determined at its public meeting scheduled for the 20th July 2017.



Continue reading “Are you interested in 385 pages about the Saughall Massie Fire Station project?”

Why is there a £17k to £19k discrepancy in allowances and expenses for councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority?

Why is there a £17k to £19k discrepancy in allowances and expenses for councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority?

Why is there a £17k to £19k discrepancy in allowances and expenses for councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority?

                                                           

Current Chair of the Audit Sub Committee Cllr Denise Roberts is in the foreground of this photo from 27th November 2014 Background L to R former DCE Kieran Timmins  DCFO Phil Garrigan and councillor
Current Chair of the Audit Sub Committee Cllr Denise Roberts is in the foreground of this photo from 27th November 2014 Background L to R former DCE Kieran Timmins DCFO Phil Garrigan and councillor

There’s a discrepancy I’ve spotted. In the papers for the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Policy and Resources Committee that meets on the 17th September 2015. There is a note in the Statement of Accounts (note 29) on page 59. It’s short so I’ll quote it below as it’s mainly information in a table.

29. Members’ Allowances

The Authority comprises of 18 councillors from the 5 districts of Merseyside. The total allowances paid to members within the year were:

  2014/15 2013/14
£000 £000
Allowances 225 239
Expenses 14 23
239 262

As you can see from the table above, for 2014/15 the total allowances paid to councillors is £225,000 and the total expenses for 2014/15 to councillors £14,000. The total for these two figures is £239,000.

On June 11th the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority met, agenda item 9 was Members Allowance Payments 2014/15. This agenda item contained a table detailing payments to councillors for 2014/15.

The total allowances detailed in that table for 2014/15 are £143,242.50 + £16,140 + £24,210.00 + £1.345.00 + £8,070.00 + £11,939.57 + £6,053.04 + £2,690.33 = £213,690.44

However £213,690.44 does not equal £225,000!

The difference is £11,309.56 +-£500!

The total expenses detailed in that table are £1,338.45 + £4,175.84 + £2,194.05 = £7,708.34

Again £7,708.34 does not equal £14,000.

This difference is £6,291.66 +-£500!

The two differences add up to a grand total of £17,601.22 +-£1000.

As the figures in the statement of accounts are rounded to the nearest £1000, this could be any figure between £16,601.22 and £18,601.20.

On the expenses side I can make an educated guess that the expenses paid directly by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority that are detailed on the 49 pages of expenses here for councillors weren’t in June being properly coded. Page 2 of a letter from Janet Henshaw states that this amount estimated at between £5,700 and £6,700 wasn’t being coded to each councillor as it would require going through approximately 12 monthly invoices and coding expenditure to 18 councillors (which is classed as a “wholly unreasonable use of scarce resources”).

I’ve totted up amounts in the first twenty-four pages and they total £3,068.04. Assuming the other pages are for broadly similar amounts that would make the total in the ballpark figure of £6,136.08 (which is within the range of £6,291.66 +-£500).

However I’m still at a loss as to why there’s a ~£11,309.56+-£500 difference on allowances for 2014/15!

Perhaps I should ask the auditor Grant Thornton what’s going on and also raise it with the councillors and officers?

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