Compensation pay outs in financial years 2021/22 & 2022/23
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.031531
I note you seek access to the following information:
1. How much money (in GBP/£) did MPS pay out in compensation in the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23?
Please break this information down by 'types of claim' and 'no.of cases settled' as well as the 'settlement total.'
2. How much money (in GBP/£) did MPS pay out in compensation in the financial year 2023/24 to the date this request was received.
3. What was the highest single compensation pay out in 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to the date this request was received in each category?
This data might look something like this
2021/22 £x for highest malfeasance claim; £y for highest public liability claim.
4. For each highest claim in q3 please provide a short description of what the pay out was in relation to.
Eg '2021/22 £y for highest public liability claim, following an incident in which X, Y, Z happened involving a 24-year-old man in Barking, east London.'
Decision
I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 40 - Personal Information
Reason for decision
Section 40 Personal Information - Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 confirms that information which relates to an identified or identifiable living individual is Personal Data.
The Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.
The information sought under your Freedom of Information request includes the following which we consider to be Personal Data
- The highest compensation payout for Judicial Reviews and the details of the reason for the payout has not been disclosed due to the small number of compensation payouts made in this category and to disclose these figures could lead to payments to individuals being identified.
Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.
In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Schedule 19 of the Data Protection Act 2018, specifically Section 58 of that schedule).
The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.
There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 act and these can be found at section 34.
In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.
Disclosure
Q1 - How much money (in GBP/£) did MPS pay out in compensation in the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23?
Please break this information down by 'types of claim' and 'no.of cases settled' as well as the 'settlement total.'
Please refer to the tables below.
Q2 - How much money (in GBP/£) did MPS pay out in compensation in the financial year 2023/24 to the date this request was received.
Please refer to the tables below.
Q3 - What was the highest single compensation pay out in 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to the date this request was received in each category?
This data might look something like this
2021/22 £x for highest malfeasance claim; £y for highest public liability claim.
Please refer to the tables below.
The highest compensation payout for Judicial Reviews has not been disclosed due to the small number of compensation payouts made in this category and to disclose these figures could lead to payments to individuals being identified. Please see S40 exemption above.
| Civil Claims (MAL) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £2,496,368.49 | £3,456,710.83 | £1,409,960.49 |
| Highest Payment | £525,000.00 | £1,100,000.00 | £474,900.00 |
| Civil Claims (PL) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £488,543.53 | £495,803.90 | £133,583.00 |
| Highest Payment | £25,039.21 | £21,667.23 | £40.000.00 |
| Civil Claims (TRF) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £3,369,448.64 | £1,895,795.82 | £656,165.38 |
| Highest Payment | £727,697.66 | £60,371.35 | £100,000.00 |
| Public Law (JRs) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £15,500.00 | £5,000.00 | £150.00 |
| Employment Claims (EMP) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £565,328.95 | £309,128.85 | £39,750.00 |
| Highest Payment | £268,058.00 | £50,000.00 | £15,000.00 |
| Employer's Liability (EL) | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24(01.04-12.07.2023) |
| Settlement Amount | £1,041,329.66 | £1,385,534.59 | £418,280.09 |
| Highest Payment | £330,000.00 | £492,509.34 | £350,000.00 |
| Data Definitions | |
| Settlement Amount | Total paid out on Compensation |
| Civil Claims (MAL) | Claims from members of the public which may include allegations of excessive force; false evidence; misapplication of the law; misunderstanding of the law; deliberate wrongdoing or failure to act; deliberate or accidental neglect; breach of European Convention rights |
| Civil Claims (PL) | Claims brought by members of the public – eg: Damage to property |
| Civil Claims (TRF) | Claims brought by members of the public – eg: Damage to car by police |
| Public Law (JR) | Application for review of a decision or action made by a public body |
| Employment Claims (EMP) | Claims brought by members of the MPS – eg: Unfair Dismal, Discrimination |
| Employer's Liability (EL) | Claims brought by members of the MPS – eg: Accidents at work |
| Data correct as at 26/07/2023 | |
Q4 - For each highest claim in q3 please provide a short description of what the pay out was in relation to.
Eg '2021/22 £y for highest public liability claim, following an incident in which X, Y, Z happened involving a 24-year-old man in Barking, east London.'
This information is exempt by way of Section 40 – Personal Information. To provide this level of detail for each of the highest settlement payments could result in the individuals and the amount they received in settlement being identified. Please see S40 exemption above.
The response includes settlement figures for Public Liability and Traffic claims against the Metropolitan Police. These are generally dealt with by Insurance & Claims but settlement payments are recorded on the DLS case management system.