THE eye-watering sums being paid out by Ledbury Town Council, after it lost a Judicial Review, are one of the town's talking points this Christmas, not least because money from the public purse is involved.

But what is known and what is still not known about Ledbury Town Council's legal bills and finances, after it lost that Judicial Review? The Ledbury Reporter sifts through the facts and statements so far.

The total sum for legal payments related to the Judicial Review payments, on the Town Council's own website, falls short of the £219,925 reported by the town council to have been paid out in legal fees; and a former chair of finance, Bob Barnes, said the online figure 'only' comes to £140,576.94, including VAT.

In fact, a non-specific shortfall in the online accounts for the judicial review payments has been acknowledged by the temporary clerk, Mel ab Owain, who said: "Not all the figures are in the public domain, as they were discussed in confidential session."

Related to this, a minuted agenda item by Cllr Tony Bradford to have all the papers presented at the last finance committee meeting was not acted upon; nor were the papers discussed in public at the last full town council meeting, ; nor will the papers be released any time soon.

Mr Mel ab Owain told the Reporter: "The council took our solicitors advice to delay this release pending our barrister's report (on the Judicial Review process), due within the next couple of months."

The High Council set no specific sum for payments of costs to Cllr Liz Harvey, who won the Judicial Review, except for an interim payment of £30,000. This interim payment, however, does not rule out other payments, subject to agreement between the two parties.

And additional legal payments to Cllr Harvey, accrued before the actual legal review last summer, will be made, or have been made.

Council chairman Cllr Nina Shields told the Reporter: "Cllr Harvey has requested that we meet the legal costs she incurred immediately prior to this."

Cllr Harvey told the Reporter: "I submitted a request to the town council that they consider reimbursing me the costs of the legal advice I was forced to take in early 2016 as a direct consequence of the council failing to follow the correct process for the handling of the staff complaints, and by attempting to make me subject to a staff grievance process which has no authority or relevance to individual councillors. This request was made back in the summer and amounts to a sum of £7,005 inc VAT."

The town council declined an offer from its solicitors to negotiate with Cllr Harvey's solicitors, in order to bring the legal expenses bill down.

Cllr Shields said: "Our solicitors offered to try to negotiate the sum charged by Cllr Harvey’s solicitor. This offer came with no guarantee that there would be any reduction in Cllr Harvey's costs. On the other hand, the council would have to commit to significant but undefined costs to pay for such negotiation. We decided to take the prudent course.’’

The town council has confirmed that reserves have been used to help pay the legal bills. In the case of the listed building reserve, a reserve of over £100,000 is down to around £14,000; and the town council has also confirmed that a precept rise of 27 per cent next year is "partially" to replenish the drained reserves.

The town council has said an independent eye is looking over the whole process.

Mr ab Owain said: "We are having the financial aspects of the whole process, dating back to early 2016, scrutinised by an independent auditor to check that expenditure was done within the law and Ledbury Town Council financial regulations."

The Judicial Review came about after Cllr Harvey was accused of bullying staff and was sanctioned by the town council. While strongly denying the accusations, she was effectively banned from speaking and voting at town council committee meetings for two years, with the exception of full council.
Cllr Harvey launched the Judicial Review against Ledbury Town Council and the council decided to defend itself in court, despite receiving conflicting legal advice.
A Herefordshire Code of Conduct investigation, which took place before the Judicial Review, cleared Cllr Harvey of the bullying accusations, and the court ruled that Ledbury Town Council should have taken this into account. 
Cllr Andrew Harrison, the current chairman of the town’s finance committee, also faced accusations of bullying staff and was also sanctioned by the town council, and he was also cleared by the Code of Conduct investigation. Cllr Harrison was listed as an interested party by the Judicial Review, and Cllr Bradford and others have asked why he has not declared a non-pecuniary interest when the Judicial Review situation is discussed at meetings.
Cllr Harrison told the Reporter: “Cllr Harvey listed me, as well as Herefordshire Council, as an Interested Party. I did not wish to be part of the Judicial Review and took the available option not to take part when I responded to the Order of the Court.”