Reference: FOI 20170047 POL FED
Subject: PFEW funding of legal representation in criminal cases
Dear Mr Williams,
I can confirm that The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) does hold this information but are exempting it under Section 40(2) Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) by virtue of S.40(3)(a)(i) of the FOIA.
Section 40(2) allows a public authority to withhold information from a response to a request for information under the FOIA when the information requested is personal information relating to someone other than the requester and its disclosure would contravene one of the data protection principles.
The first data protection principle requires personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully. This personal data is exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the FOIA as, in our view, it would be unfair to provide it to you, and therefore disclosure would be in contravention of the first principle of the Data Protection Act 1998.
The sixth data protection principle requires that the processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties to whom the data is disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject.
Whilst the general public have a right to expect an element of transparency, and the public interest in the issue the information relates to and any public interest in disclosing the specific information may be present, we have considered the legitimate interests in disclosing this information. The money spent by PFEW in defence costs of police officers (past and present) are not public funds; they are taken from contributions of officers who pay into the scheme, which has no bearing on the public’s right to know how public funds are spent.
We have considered the legitimate interests of the data subjects. They have not given consent to this disclosure and would legitimately consider their possible funding and details of their case by the staff association they subscribed to would not be disclosed.
In order to provide the applicant with the information requested would involve the processing of personal data. Consequently, if we were to comply with the request, we would, in effect, be making an unrestricted disclosure of personal data to the general public on the strength of an individual requester’s private interests. A disclosure of this nature could constitute a disproportionate and unwarranted level of interference with the data subjects’ rights and freedoms (particularly their right to the protection of their personal data under Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union).
Having assessed whether disclosure is necessary in these terms, we are satisfied that Schedule 2 condition 6 is satisfied.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Stone
Freedom of Information Officer
Police Federation of England and Wales
Federation House, Highbury Drive, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7UY
Telephone: 01372 352059| Fax: 01372 352078| Email: