§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel charged with an offence applied for legal aid during 1983–84 and 1984–85.
§ Mr. LeeIn the calendar years 1983, 1984 and 1985 the following number of applications for legal aid were made by Army and RAF personnel:
Year Army RAF 1983 221 104 1984 246 139 1985 320 148 No central record is maintained of applications for legal aid from Royal Navy personnel and this information could only be obtained with disproportionate effort.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence what record is kept of applications for legal aid made formally or informally by an accused to any military personnel.
§ Mr. LeeA record is kept of each formal application for legal aid made to the appropriate Army and RAF service legal aid section. In the case of the Royal Navy, no central record is maintained of legal aid applications and this information could only be obtained with disproportionate effort. Records are not kept of informal inquiries about legal aid.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel were defended at courts martial by a qualified lawyer during 1983–84 and 1984–85.
§ Mr. LeeThe number of service personnel who were defended by civilian lawyers at courts-martial during 1983, 1984 and 1985 were as follows:
1983 1984 1985 Royal Navy 2 5 1 Army 208 228 299 RAF 104 138 145 No central record is kept of the number of cases where service men are represented by service officers who are legally qualified and this information could only be obtained with disproportionate effort.