Public services face up to cost of Hillsborough inquests

Both Yorkshire Ambulance Service and South Yorkshire Fire Service have approached the Government for financial support with each already spending close to £1m on their formal representation at the inquests in Warrington.

The inquests are likely to stretch into next year, prompting fears that money may have to be diverted from frontline services.

It has already been revealed that South Yorkshire Police have so far spent more than £12m on legal costs. Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), is due to take part in urgent talks with Home Secretary Theresa May tomorrow with the aim of securing financial support.

Dr Billings has warned operational policing could be hit
without extra government funding and South Yorkshire Fire Service has now also warned its services could be affected by the amount of money that has to be found for representation at the inquests.

A spokesman said the fire service was seeking government help to pay for its legal costs which already total £794,000 and are anticipated to top £1m.

He said: “We absolutely support the need for this inquest to provide the bereaved families with much-needed answers.”

But he added: “Clearly our anticipated legal costs of over £1m divert resources away from providing essential frontline services. We have asked the Government to recognise this is an exceptional spending need, and provide funds to support these costs, and those discussions are ongoing.”

The legal bill for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust is currently running to £850,000 with final costs expected to be in the region of £1.5m.

A spokeswoman said: “The Trust is currently in discussions with NHS England, the NHS Trust Development Authority and the Department of Health about funding for these legal costs.”

Sheffield Council has also run-up a considerable bill for representation at the inquests currently with £656,000 so far spent. The local authority also estimates its in-house legal costs, in terms of man hours, at £200,000 with a further £43,000 identified for incidental costs, like broadband.

A council spokeswoman said: “We understand that some people will question this sum of money coming out of Council’s insurance reserve, particularly in times of austerity.

“However, along with the Government, we recognise that it is absolutely vital that the truth is established for the families of the 96 people who died that day, and always our thoughts are with them.

“That means appropriate resources need to be put into the Hillsborough disaster inquests, to ensure the legal process is fair, meticulous, and conducted with the utmost professionalism.”

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has also paid £100,000 in costs for representation at the inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who died following a fatal crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground in April 1989.

The largest costs remain with the police, most of which relate to the funding of eight former senior officers who are formally represented at the inquests.

The South Yorkshire PCC’s office has been trying for more than a year to get the Home Secretary to provide financial support but has so far been unable to secure a firm commitment on how much will be made available.

The inquests are being held by the Right Honourable Sir John Goldring. Following an application by the Attorney-General in 2012 the High Court quashed the verdicts in the original inquests.

The spiralling costs of the Hillsborough inquests come as South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner faces unprecedented pressure on his force’s finances.

Dr Billings last week proposed a 1.95 per cent increase in the police council tax precept, citing the “extremely difficult” financial outlook faced by local police services.

While extra funds are being diverted to tackling child sexual exploitation and other related issues, the force will also have to cover significant costs not related to day-to-day policing.

The National Crime Agency’s probe into the child sexual exploitation scandal in Rotherham, which this week gathered pace as new revelations emerged about alleged criminality, is likely to cost South Yorkshire Police millions of pounds as the abuse happened on its patch. When details of the terms of reference for the inquiry emerged last year, Dr Billings said he would apply to the Home Office for special grant funding to meet the costs.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last month that policing protests by the English Defence League put a £2.5m dent in its budget in under 12 months.

Some 4,068 police officers were deployed at nine protests staged in Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham between June 2013 and November last year.