Ref No.: 04 26
Request Type: FOI
Date Received: 24/04/26
Date Responded: 21/05/26
Category: Legal Counsel and Settlements
Request
- How much money has WICS spent on external legal counsel in relation to employment law in each of its financial years since 2022/23? Please provide figures for each year.
- How much money has WICS spent on external legal counsel for all matters in each of its financial years since 2022/23? Please provide figures for each year.
- How much money has WICS spent on settlement agreements with departing staff since 2022/23. Please provide figures for each year and the number of settlements in each year.
- How much has WICS budgeted to spend on settlement agreements in 2026/27?
- How much has WICS budgeted to spend on external legal counsel in 2026/27?
- How much money has WICS spent on preparing for employment tribunals in each financial year since 2022/23.
- How much money has WICS spent on settlements in relation to employment tribunals in each financial year since 2022/23.
- How much has WICS budgeted to spend on settlements in relation to employment tribunals in the 2026/27 financial year.
Response
Many thanks for your request for information dated 24 April 2026.
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). FOISA provides for a right of access to recorded information held by Scottish public authorities.
The table below provides a response to the following questions:
1.How much money has WICS spent on external legal counsel in relation to employment law in each of its financial years since 2022/23? Please provide figures for each year.
2.How much money has WICS spent on external legal counsel for all matters in each of its financial years since 2022/23? Please provide figures for each year.
6.How much money has WICS spent on preparing for employment tribunals in each financial year since 2022/23.
Actual expenditure associated with external legal counsel (£)
Category of advice |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
| Employment law (Q1) | 12,158 | 31,245 | 35,522 | 8,841 |
| Preparing for employment tribunals (Q6) | - | - | - | 62,681 |
| Regulation/Licensing | 75,016 | 99,761 | 76,257 | 116,696 |
| Total spent on external legal counsel (Q2) | 87,174 | 131,006 | 111,780 | 188,217 |
The table below provides a response to the following questions:
3.How much money has WICS spent on settlement agreements with departing staff since 2022/23. Please provide figures for each year and the number of settlements in each year.
7.How much money has WICS spent on settlements in relation to employment tribunals in each financial year since 2022/23.
Figures include payments made in relation to staff departures. While the request specifically refers to settlement agreements, WICS has also included payments relating to other formal departure arrangements, including ACAS-mediated resolutions and voluntary severance arrangements, in the interests of openness and transparency. The figures include associated employer National Insurance contributions where applicable, but exclude associated legal costs, which are considered separately within the response to the request for legal expenditure above.
Details of settlement agreements and other costs of departing employees
Year |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
| Settlement agreement x1 (Q3) | - | 84,800 | - | - |
| ACAS mediated x1 (Q7) | - | - | - | 45,000 |
| Voluntary severance x1 | - | - | - | 95,000 |
| Employer's National Insurance | - | 11,600 | - | 12,000 |
The table below provides a response to the following questions:
4.How much has WICS budgeted to spend on settlement agreements in 2026/27?
5.How much has WICS budgeted to spend on external legal counsel in 2026/27?
8.How much has WICS budgeted to spend on settlements in relation to employment tribunals in the 2026/27 financial year?
Budgeted expenditure 2026-27
Expenditure category |
Budget 2026-27 (£) |
| Settlement agreements (Q4) | - |
| External legal counsel - Regulation/licensing (Q5) | 205,310 |
| External legal counsel - Employment law (Q5) | - |
| Settlements in relation to employment tribunals (Q8) | - |
If you are unhappy with this response to your request, you may ask us to carry out a review by contacting us. Your request for review should explain why you are dissatisfied and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this response. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original process and we will reply within 20 working days of receipt.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) and thereafter to the Court of Session on a point of law only. The SIC can be contacted using the details below:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Web: www.foi.scot