Legal Costs Protocol

Purpose of this document

1. This Protocol sets out the rules and provides guidance to legal representatives applying for financial support towards the legal costs of Core Participants in the Orgreave Inquiry.

Key concepts

2. This protocol explains:
   1. how to apply under section 40 of the Inquiries Act 2005 (“the Inquiries Act”) for an award covering the costs of legal representation; and
   2. where the Chair decides to make an award, how the Inquiry will assess and pay the legal costs and disbursements covered by that award.
3. This protocol does not deal with:
   1. applications for Core Participant status; or
   2. the designation of lawyers as Recognised Legal Representatives (“RLRs”); or
   3. Witness expenses.

   Those matters are governed by the Inquiries Act, the Inquiry Rules 2006 (“the Inquiry Rules”) and the Inquiry’s Protocol on Core Participants.

4. The procedures in this Protocol:
   1. have been developed, and will be applied, in accordance with section 17 of the Inquiries Act;
   2. take into account, in particular, section 17(3), which requires the Chair to act fairly and with regard to the need to avoid unnecessary cost;
   3. follow the approach set out in the Section 40 Determination made by the Minister; and
   4. reflect the relevant provisions of the Inquiry Rules concerning costs.

Who can apply?

5. An application for an award will only be considered if the Applicant:
   1. is attending the Inquiry to give evidence or to produce a document or other thing; or
   2. in the Chair’s opinion, is a person with particular interest in the proceedings or outcome of the Inquiry that justifies making an award.

How to apply

6. An application for an award for legal costs must be made in writing to the Inquiry and must explain clearly and concisely why financial assistance is sought.
   
7. A template application form will be provided in Word format. Anyone wishing to apply for an award must complete the form and return it to the Inquiry, marked for the attention of the “Solicitor to the Inquiry”. The completed form may be submitted by email or FREEPOST using the contact details below.
   
8. The Inquiry will also accept applications made in other formats, provided that they comply with this Protocol. Each application must include:
   1. the reasons why legal representation is considered necessary;
   2. details of the Applicant’s financial resources and confirmation that the legal representation cannot be funded from another source;
   3. an explanation of how making an award would be in the public interest;
   4. the nature and extent of the legal representation for which the award is sought;
   5. the proposed size and composition of the legal team, including the seniority and proposed hourly rate of each member;
   6. if the Applicant wishes to instruct Counsel, they must include:
      1. the reasons why Counsel is required;
      2. Counsel’s year of call; and
      3. Counsel’s proposed hourly rate.
      Counsel will be funded only for time spent on Inquiry work. Claims for a brief fee, refresher fee, or preparation fee will not be permitted;
   7. the period for which the RLR is expected to be engaged;
   8. the number of hours per week that each member of the proposed legal team is expected to spend on Inquiry work;
   9. the number of hours per week that Counsel is expected to spend on Inquiry work.

9. The Inquiry will handle all information received in accordance with its Privacy Notice .

What the Chair considers

10. The Chair may make an award for the costs of legal representation at public expense. An application must include details of any other foreseeable legal costs or disbursements associated with that legal representation.
11. When deciding whether to make an award, the Chair must take into account:
    1. the Applicant’s financial resources; and
    2. whether making an award would be in the public interest.
12. To assist the Chair in making that decision, the Applicant must confirm whether their disposable income or assets exceed the levels specified in the application form. The Applicant may also be required to provide further details of their financial resources.

13. An award will generally be made only where the Chair considers that one or more of the following criteria are met:
    1. the Applicant has evidence relevant to the matters set out in the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference;
    2. the Applicant has a significant interest in the matters set out in the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference;
    3. the Applicant may be subject to explicit or significant criticism during the Inquiry’s proceedings, or in a report produced by the Inquiry; and/or
    4. making an award would be fair, necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
14. Awards will not generally be made for the legal costs or disbursements of:
    1. substantial bodies; or
    2. individuals or organisations that could reasonably expect their legal costs to be met by a substantial body.
       

What happens next

15. The Chair will determine an application for an award of legal costs within a reasonable time.

16. The Solicitor to the Inquiry will notify the Applicant in writing of the Chair’s determination. If the application is granted, the Solicitor to the Inquiry will issue an award letter setting out the details of the award and any conditions that apply to it. These may include:
    1. the nature and scope of the work to be funded;
    2. the permitted size and composition of the RLR’s legal team, including, where necessary, the seniority and number of Counsel;
    3. the approved hourly rates for Counsel, solicitors and paralegals;
    4. any cap on legal fees, including the maximum number of hours that the legal team, including Counsel, may charge for any working day or working week;
    5. a requirement that any disbursement exceeding £100, exclusive of VAT, must be authorised in advance by the Solicitor to the Inquiry;
    6. a requirement that a disbursement of £100 or less will be paid only if:
       1. the expenditure was reasonable and necessary; and
       2. evidence of payment is provided;
    7. a requirement that payment will be made only for work that:
       1. is properly evidenced;
       2. has been undertaken efficiently and effectively;
       3. avoids unnecessary duplication; and
       4. makes the best use of public funds;
    8. a requirement that each item of work must be undertaken by a person of an appropriate grade. If the work is undertaken by a person of a higher grade than necessary, it will be paid at the approved hourly rate for the appropriate lower grade;
    9. the form in which bills for legal expenses must be submitted; and
    10. how frequently bills must be submitted.

17. As set out in the Minister’s Section 40 Determination, expenditure incurred before an award is made will not normally be recoverable. Such expenditure will be recoverable only where, and to the extent that, it has been expressly authorised in advance by the Solicitor to the Inquiry.
18. Any prior authorisation given under paragraph 17 will have no bearing on the Chair’s determination of a subsequent application for an award.
19. The Chair may impose additional conditions at any time after making an award. In particular, the Chair may impose a lower cap on the legal costs that may be claimed. This may take the form of:
    1. an overall financial limit; and/or
    2. a limit on the number of hours that may be spent on Inquiry work.
20. The Solicitor to the Inquiry will review each award with the Chair every six months.
    

Limitations of legal representation

21. An award will cover only legal work undertaken by the Applicant’s RLR, or by a member of the RLR’s legal team. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
22. Where the Chair decides to make an award for legal representation at public expense, it will normally be limited to an RLR undertaking the following tasks:
    1. taking, considering and communicating initial instructions from the client whom the RLR has been instructed to represent during the course of the Inquiry;
    2. advising that client in relation to making a witness statement, and/or providing evidence in response to a request from the Inquiry;
    3. considering material provided by the Inquiry so far as is necessary to represent the client’s interests;
    4. advising the client in relation to any warning letter issued by the Chair;
    5. drafting an opening statement, where permitted by the Chair;
    6. representing the client while they give oral evidence and, where necessary, during the oral evidence of other witnesses;
    7. preparing submissions for the Inquiry on witness statements/further witness statements to be obtained, and the matters to be addressed;
    8. drafting other submissions on behalf of the client, where necessary.

23. In accordance with the Protocol on Core Participants and Rule 7 of the Inquiry Rules, the Chair may direct that two or more Core Participants will be represented by a single RLR where the Chair considers that:
    1. their interests in the outcome of the Inquiry are similar;
    2. the facts on which they are likely to rely during the Inquiry are similar; and
    3. it is fair and proper for them to be jointly represented.
24. If the Solicitor to the Inquiry identifies a potential conflict of interest, the Solicitor to the Inquiry will bring it to the attention of:
    1. the persons affected;
    2. their legal representatives, where appropriate; and
    3. the Chair.
    The Chair will take the potential conflict of interest into account when determining the application.
25. In accordance with the Minister’s Section 40 Determination, the maximum hourly rates payable for members of an RLR’s legal team are set out in ANNEX 1. The applicable hourly rates must be agreed with the Solicitor to the Inquiry before any work is undertaken.

26. The maximum number of hours that can be claimed by each member of a person’s legal team in respect of an award made by the Chair will be 40 hours per week, save that exceptionally the Solicitor to the Inquiry may authorise an increase in the cap to a maximum of 60 hours per week in relation to specified members of the legal team for any specific week during any oral hearings, if applicable, or within a period of up to eight weeks prior to any oral hearings, where they are satisfied that such an increase is justified in all the circumstances.
27. A week will be taken to commence on a Monday and end on a Sunday and no unused hours in any week may not be carried forward or applied to another week.
28. An award will not be made in respect of any investigative work undertaken by an RLR or in relation to obtaining an expert report unless the Chair has given his express written permission and approved the proposed expert in advance for such work to be undertaken.
29. The hourly rate for travel or waiting time will be no more than half of the agreed hourly rate for legal work. Any travel or waiting time must be included within the cap on the maximum number of hours that can be charged by an RLR.
30. Any claim for travel must be proportionate. As a general rule, the cost of travel within five miles of a legal representative’s usual place of work will not be recoverable.

31. As a general rule, when assessing claims for routine emails, the Inquiry will apply the totality principle by considering the overall time claimed for that work rather than assessing each email separately.

Billing procedures

32. Bills for legal expenses must be submitted monthly to the Solicitor to the Inquiry using the email address or postal address set out below. Each bill must be received no later than 14 days after the end of the month to which it relates.
33. If additional time is required, an application for an extension must be made before the 14-day period specified above. Where a bill is submitted late without an extension having been authorised in advance, the Inquiry may:
    1. reduce the amount payable by an appropriate percentage; or
    2. decline to make any payment in respect of the bill.
34. Bills must be submitted using the template provided by the Inquiry with the award letter. Each bill must include:
    1. for each person whose work is claimed:
       1. the number of hours worked on each day;
       2. a description of the work undertaken; and
       3. the time spent on each item of work;
    2. the hourly rate claimed for each person;
    3. an itemised list of all disbursements claimed; and
    4. where work has been undertaken by Counsel, details of Counsel’s fees supported by detailed fee notes.
35. For the purpose of assessing an award, the relevant part of the United Kingdom is England and Wales.

36. The Solicitor to the Inquiry, or a member of the Inquiry Legal Team to whom the Solicitor to the Inquiry has delegated the task, will assess each bill.
37. When assessing the amount payable in respect of a bill, the Solicitor to the Inquiry will have regard to all the circumstances, including, in particular, whether the expenses claimed:
    1. were proportionately and reasonably incurred;
    2. are proportionate and reasonable in amount; and
    3. have been claimed in accordance with the procedures set out in this Protocol and the conditions of the award.
38. The following will not be allowed:
    1. work relating to matters outside the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference;
    2. work relating to matters outside the issues identified by the Inquiry for investigation; or
    3. work that does not otherwise comply with the terms and conditions of the award.
39. Where the Solicitor to the Inquiry determines that the legal costs claimed in a bill should be paid in full, that determination will constitute the final assessment of the bill.

40. If the client or their RLR disagrees with the Solicitor to the Inquiry’s initial assessment of a bill, they must notify the Solicitor to the Inquiry as soon as reasonably practicable; and in any event, no later than 21 days after the initial assessment was sent. The procedure set out in rule 29 of the Inquiry Rules will then apply.
41. If the disagreement remains unresolved after the procedure set out in Rule 29 of the Inquiry Rules has been completed, the Chair must either:
    1. refer the assessment, together with all relevant evidence and documents to a Costs Judge of the Senior Courts of England and Wales for review; or
    2. require the Solicitor to the Inquiry to issue a final assessment of the disputed bill.
42. The Chair will make an award and arrange payment of the amount finally assessed where:
    1. the Chair decides not to refer the assessment to a Costs Judge for review; or
    2. after the assessment has been referred to a Costs Judge, but before the review hearing, the Solicitor to the Inquiry and the Applicant agree the amount payable.
43. Where a Costs Judge has reviewed the assessment, the Chair will make an award and arrange payment of the amount assessed by the Costs Judge.

44. Payments will be made by either a Bankers’ Automated Clearing System (“BACS”) or payable order at the Inquiry’s discretion.
45. The Applicant, the RLR, or the person or organisation to whom the payment is to be made must provide the bank account details and any other information required by the Inquiry to process the payment.
    

Contact details

46. All applications, correspondence, and queries concerning awards must be sent:
    1. by email to legal@orgreave.public-inquiry.uk ; or
    2. by post to Freepost ORGREAVE INQUIRY.
    All written correspondence, including completed application forms, must be addressed to the Solicitor to the Inquiry.
47. Failure to comply with any requirement or procedure set out in this Protocol may result in:
    1. payment being delayed;
    2. the amount payable being reduced, where appropriate; or
    3. payment being refused.
48. The Chair and Solicitor to the Inquiry have discretion to vary the application of the terms of this Protocol on a case-by-case basis where it is considered necessary for the proper conduct of the Inquiry, subject to the constraints of the Minister’s Section 40 Determination.
    

Review

49. The Inquiry will keep this Protocol under review to ensure that it remains up to date and reflects the needs and practices of the Inquiry. The Protocol will also be reviewed where changes in legislation may require alterations to relevant policy or practice. Any amendments must be reviewed and approved by the Chair. The updated Protocol will then be published on the Inquiry’s website at the earliest opportunity.

Annex 1 – Maximum RLR Rates

Role	Maximum hourly rate (excluding VAT)
Leading Counsel (either barrister or solicitor advocate)	£200
Junior Counsel (either barrister or solicitor advocate)	£100
Solicitors or Legal Executives with over 8 years post-qualification experience	£150
Solicitors or Legal Executives with over 4 years post-qualification experience	£125
Other Solicitors or Legal Executives or fee earners of equivalent experience	£100
Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners	£75

This Protocol was last updated in August 2026.