Wasting Public Money
£250,000 of taxpayers money has been wasted so far - which just goes to show that Edinburgh councillors are adept at making a mess of other things - not just the city's trams.
As regular readers will know - for the past three years - Edinburgh City Council has been trying to deny the perfectly valid equal pay claims of former APT&C workers.
Despite having lost the argument hands down - at the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and in Scotland highest civil court - the Court of Session.
So our enterprising reader decided to ask Edinburgh City Council exactly how much public money it had spent - or wasted - so far on this ridiculous exercise.
And here's the gist of the reply the reader received:
Subject: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Release of Information. Our Ref: 320467
Dear Mrs G
Subject: Equal Pay Claims
Thank you for your request for information which has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Your request for information has been considered and the information is enclosed.
It is incumbent on the Council to carefully explore all the legal issues before any decision to settle claims is taken, and to do so with due regard to the best use of public funds both in terms of the costs of the legal process and the costs of the eventual outcome.
The Council has a statutory duty with regard to the use of public funds, and it would not be appropriate to consider settlement of claims until the full legal process has been completed, and all legal issues have been properly explored. This is what the legal process to date has been about. It is important to recognise that, at this stage, none of the claims have been successful.
The effect of the judgement has been to resolve certain technical questions as to whether the equal pay claims by APT&C employees can be competently considered by an Employment Tribunal. This would be the last stage in the process, and this is where the claims would be properly considered on their merits. Prior to that consideration, it has to be established if the jobs of the claimants and comparators are of equal value. To do this the Tribunal instructs a comparison by an independent expert who assesses each job and provides a finding to the Tribunal.
For clarification, it is not accurate to state that all three judgements have been against the Council; the Council has both won and lost points during the legal process to date, as the originating Employment Tribunal judgements have dealt with more than point, each of which have been appealed.
Expenditure on legal costs with regard to equal pay is £246,259, which relates to the period since 2005. This includes expenditure in connection with claims which have already been settled, as well as claims still outstanding. This expenditure can be fully justified in the light of the Council's statutory duty on best use of public funds, given the magnitude of the estimated value of the claims, were they to ultimately succeed, and the need to fully explore the legal issues through the proper process.
Your right to seek a review
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your request, you can ask us to review our actions and decisions by writing to the Head of Legal and Administrative Services, The City of Edinburgh Council, Waverley Court Business Centre 2:1, 4, East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG or email: foi@edinburgh.gov.uk
Edinburgh City Council
Now in my experience it's unheard of for a council to set out such a lame defence of its actions in responding to an FOI request - so it just goes to show how sensitive Edinburgh is about its handling of this whole affair.
So people should take heart from Edinburgh's discomfort at being asked an awkward question or two - and being able to respond only in unintelligible gobbledegook.
Someone, somewhere needs to justify pouring £250,000 of taxpayers money - down the drain - and that means someone within the political leadership of Edinburgh City Council.
