Dear Information Governance Team,
I am requesting information regarding the Council’s legal department's standard operating procedures and specific records concerning the filing and service of witness statements in civil litigation.
1. Backdating Protocols: Please provide the Council’s policy or internal guidance regarding the "backdating" of certificates of service or witness statements. Specifically, does the Council permit officers to date a served document as 15th February when the actual act of service occurred on 15th April?
2. Filing of Unsigned Statements: Please provide data on how many occasions in the last 24 months RBWM Legal has filed "unsigned" witness statements with the Court to meet a deadline, and the subsequent "error rate" reported to the Court regarding these filings.
3. Specific Document Meta-Data: Regarding the witness statement formally claim L00WC003 latterly case AC-2025-LON-002219. I request the "Audit Trail" or "Metadata" (creation date, last modified date, and print date) for the version of the statement filed on 15th February versus the version served on 15th April. (Note: If the Council claims this is personal data, I cross-reference this request with my simultaneous Subject Access Request (SAR)).
4. External Audit of Legal Conduct: Please confirm if the Council’s Monitoring Officer has been alerted to instances where a document was filed with the Court (15th Feb) but intentionally withheld from the opposing party until a later date (15th April) while appearing to be backdated.