HC Deb 21 July 1998 vol 316 cc911-2
37. Mr. Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs)

When he expects the White Paper on modernising legal aid and civil justice to be published. [49910]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)

The Government intend to publish in the autumn a comprehensive statement setting out their wide-ranging programme for reforming and modernising access to justice.

Mr. Flight

To what extent has that cost already been anticipated in last week's spending announcement by the Chancellor? Does the White Paper anticipate any difference in approach to legal aid between criminal and civil cases? Certainly in my experience, there is misuse of civil legal aid.

Mr. Hoon

Clearly, in publishing our expenditure proposals for the next three years, the Government have taken fully into account the need to reform the system of legal aid, which has been failing everyone. The system is out of control. It might interest the hon. Gentleman to know that, in a continuing trend, in 1997–98 the Legal Aid Board paid some 30,000 fewer bills, but their cost was some £28 million greater. Once again, the taxpayer has been paying more but getting less.