HC Deb 19 November 1996 vol 285 cc469-70W
Sir Dudley Smith

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) for what reasons the Legal Aid Board has refused to disclose to the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington(a) the total amount Mr. X, whose name has been sent to him, has received in legal aid during the past five years and (b) the amount he is due to pay back for such aid which was wrongfully assigned; [4206]

(2) what remedy is available to a person who is sued in court under custody proceedings who cannot afford to employ a solicitor and who faces counsel retained by the litigant who is on legal aid; [4130]

(3) for what reasons the Legal Aid Board has granted legal aid to Mr. X, whose name has been sent to him, for contact and parental responsibility proceedings while the mother of his two children has been refused assistance with legal costs; and what account was taken of her income in assessing her eligibility for legal aid. [4207]

Mr. Streeter

I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Sir Dudley Smith

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the highest amount of legal aid granted to a litigant in the last five years. [4120]

Mr. Streeter

The information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, in 1995–96 the largest total payment in a criminal case amounted to £2,946,000, which was paid to lawyers representing a defendant involved in a serious fraud trial. The largest payment in a civil case in the same year was £531,246 in a personal injury case, although the net cost of this case to the fund was nil.