§ Mr. Meacherasked the Attorney-General what has been the annual cost of the legal aid and advice scheme for each year since 1949; how many persons have used it for each of these years; and what percentage each of these totals are of the number tried each year before magistrates' courts.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe legal aid and advice scheme relates to civil cases only. The cost of legal aid in criminal cases in the magistrates' courts became a charge on the Legal Aid Fund from 14th March, 1960. The legal aid and advice scheme was extended to civil cases in the magistrates' courts on 8th May, 1961.
The figures asked for in the first two parts of the hon. Member's Question are contained in the Reports of the Law Society on the operation of the Legal Aid and Advice Scheme and the Criminal Judicial Statistics for the years concerned.
The last part of the hon. Member's question is not understood, but the following is a table showing the basic figures available from which any required percentages can be calculated.