§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Attorney-General in how many cases only one side was legally represented before tribunals, under the supervision of the Council of Tribunals during each of the last five years; and what proportion of the total they represented.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the cost of extending legal aid provisions to tribunals.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Law Society estimated in 1974 that the annual net cost would be slightly less than £400,000. However, this was only a tentative estimate and costs have risen since then.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Attorney-General what reason he has for refusing to give priority to the provision of legal aid to tribunals.
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§ The Attorney-GeneralAs I told my hon. Friend in the reply I gave him on 20th October, my noble Friend cannot give priority to this in view of the current constraints on public expenditure and the urgent need to improve legal services generally. He will review the whole position when the study he has commissioned into the unmet need for legal services is complete and he is in a better position to assess relative priorities.—[Vol. 898, c. 26.]
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Attorney-General what is his first priority in improving legal aid; what progress has been made in the last year; and how much additional expenditure was incurred.
§ The Attorney-GeneralMy noble Friend's first priority is the provision of legal services for those sections of the community which need legal help and are not getting it. The study he commenced last year into this problem is now nearing completion. During the financial year 1974–75 £50,000 was provided for six law centres in severe financial straits, and my noble friend has announced that he intends to allocate a further £100,000 during the current year. In addition, the income limits for legal aid, advice and assistance were raised in September 1974 and June 1975, at an estimated additional net cost of approximately £1.5 million.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Attorney-General in what number of cases in each of the last five years the unrepresented person at a tribunal was successful when the other side was legally represented; and what proportion this was of the total number.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI regret that this information is not available.