§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications to the Legal Aid Board for England and Wales seeking damages as a result of the contracting of CJD have been made in each of the last five years; how many such applications(a) succeeded and (b) were refused; and what were the reasons given in respect of those which were refused. [32672]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board has received applications in respect of two categories of CJD cases. The difference between the two types is the alleged causation factor. The cases relate either to new variant CJD (nvCJD) allegedly arising out of BSE or the fear of contracting CJD as a result of receiving Human Growth Hormone (HGH) treatment. The table sets out the number of applications received in each action and those granted or refused.
Applications Granted Refused nvCJD- BSE CJD- HGH nvCJD- BSE CJD- HGH nvCJD- BSE CJD- HGH 1993 0 41 0 41 0 0 1994 0 50 0 50 0 0 1995 0 38 0 38 0 0 1996 8 39 2 39 6 0 1997 8 21 8 19 0 2 1998 13 4 1 3 0 1 1 Two cases awaiting decision. The six CJD-BSE cases refused legal aid in 1996 were refused as they failed to meet the merits test in each case.
One CJD-HGH case was refused in 1997 as the applicant was not financially eligible for legal aid, the other case was withdrawn.
The CJD-HGH case refused in 1998 was refused as the applicant was not financially eligible for legal aid.