Freedom of Information request on the legal challende by the Association of Children Damaged bu Hormone Pregnancy Tests (FOI 22/670)
Published 22 March 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-responses-from-the-mhra-week-commencing-23-may-2022/freedom-of-information-request-on-the-legal-challende-by-the-association-of-children-damaged-bu-hormone-pregnancy-tests-foi-22670
FOI 22/670
25 May 2022
Dear
Thank you for your email.
Please find below answers to the questions you have raised below:
The MHRA is currently facing a legal challenge by the Association of Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests. Under the freedom of information act please can you tell me how much the MHRA has spent to date on legal fees defending this challenge.
Unfortunately, we do not hold cost information for single cases. We pay GLD a quarterly fixed retainer for £71,700 including VAT, and a variable charge depending on the work GLD undertake on behalf of the agency. This charge is a single amount calculated by GLD for which we don’t have a breakdown. We have asked GLD to provide us with this information however we do not know if this is possible, and do not currently hold this information ourselves.
As a supplementary question - have you budgeted the full legal cost of defending this challenge?
We set our total Legal budget on an average of previous years’ spend as we do not budget on the basis of individual cases. The budget is done on the expectation that our legal requirement will remain roughly similar one year to the next. If costs exceed the specific legal budget, the agency would look to manage this within its overall budget.
If you have a query about the information provided, please reply to this email.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date you receive this response and addressed to: [email protected]
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you were to remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you would have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please bear in mind that the Information Commissioner will not normally review our handling of your request unless you have first contacted us to conduct an internal review. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
MHRA Customer Experience Centre