FOI request (FOIR-717833372)

Court Experts

Requested Tue 27 May 2025
Responded Wed 28 May 2025

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Council's expenditure on expert witnesses in public law family court proceedings.

Please provide the following information for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 (from 01/01/25 until 16/05/25, or when you choose to respond to this):

1. The total amount spent on expert witnesses in public law family court proceedings (for example, care proceedings under the Children Act 1989) by Hastings Borough Council.

2. A breakdown of the types of experts instructed (for example, psychologists, psychiatrists, independent social workers, medical professionals, and so on) and the total spend per category.

3. A list of the top 10 experts or expert firms by total spend between 2022 and 2025 (inclusive). Please provide the name of the expert or firm where this does not breach the data protection exemption as well as how much was spent on each individual or firm. If this breaches a cost exemption, please only disclose the top 5 experts.

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Response

Information not held.

Adult and Children's Services are dealt with by East Sussex County Council, please visit their website for further information:

https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk