§ Sir Nicholas LyellTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what the failure rate is in legally aided personal injury cases; and what was the cost to the Legal Aid Fund of such cases in each of the past five years. [63942]
§ Mr. HoonIt is not possible to provide the information in the form requested. In cases that settle out of court, the terms of the settlement are not recorded on the Legal Aid Board's computer system, and it is therefore not possible to determine whether, in these cases, the plaintiff's claim was met in full. Information is available only in respect of cases where no damages were awarded. The proportion of cases receiving no damages in each of the last five years, was as follows:
Year Proportion of cases without damages (Percentage) Net cost of cases without damages (£) 1996–97 42 60,823,987 1995–96 43 54,642,081 1994–95 37 44,102,253 1993–94 38 37,482,163 1992–93 35 22,079,048
§ Mr. ViggersTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how long the Legal Aid Board takes to process non-urgent applications. [64676]
§ Mr. HoonIn 1997–98, the Legal Aid Board processed 84 per cent. of civil legal aid applications within 2 weeks, and 94 per cent. within 4 weeks.
§ Mr. ViggersTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if solicitors receive acknowledgment letters in response to legal aid applications, and are kept informed of progress in consideration of the applications. [64677]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board does not acknowledge receipt of civil legal aid applications received, nor does it keep solicitors informed of the progress of the application. On average, the Board receives 450,000 applications for civil legal aid a year. In the majority of cases, a decision is made within one to four weeks. As the majority of applications are decided within a short period, sending acknowledgment letters would create additional costs and an unnecessary administrative burden.
On request, the Board is able to inform the solicitor of the current status of any particular matter.
§ Mr. ViggersTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the Corporate Information System of the Legal Aid Board. [64675]
8W
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board's Corporate Information System (CIS) was implemented on a phased basis which began with the first office going live in November 1997 and the final office in November 1998. The system is now fully operational in all Board offices. CIS is a fully integrated case management system for all types of legal aid with a single database. It replaces systems which were supported by increasingly ancient software and hardware which were not Millennium compliant. CIS provides the Board with more effective control over the management of the Legal Aid Fund and is an essential part of the Board's strategy for preparing for contracting with suppliers of legal services.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average level of debt write-off in(a) the Reading legal aid region and (b) nationally in the last year for which figures are available. [65100]
§ Mr. HoonIt is the Board's policy to pursue recovery of all debts unless it is evident it would not be cost effective to do so. The average value of debt written off nationally and in the Reading legal aid region in 1997–98, which are the latest figures available, are as follows:
£ Reading 637 Nationally 700
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average amount of legal aid granted for claims in(a) the Reading region and (b) nationally in the last year for which figures are available. [65099]
§ Mr. HoonIn 1997–98, the average gross cost of legal aid claims paid in respect of civil and criminal legal aid and advice and assistance (green form) in(a) Reading and (b) nationally were:
Reading legal aid region National Total number (£) average Total number (£) average Civil legal aid 20,142 3,420 328,845 3,018 Criminal legal aid 35,311 470 494,130 496 Advice and assistance (Green Form) 84,611 91 1,586,764 106
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what protocols have been established(a) nationally and (b) in the Reading legal aid region on the length of time for which printouts showing the levels of client contribution should be kept. [65102]
§ Mr. HoonSince the introduction of the Legal Aid Board's Corporate Information System (CIS) records of all contribution payments received from assisted persons, for both live and closed cases are maintained on the database. The Board's current policy is to maintain these records indefinitely and information can be printed out at any time.
9WThe Board's Reading area office moved onto CIS in April 1998. The above procedure applied from that date. Prior to the introduction of CIS, full records of contributions received for all live cases were maintained on a computer system (OLIFS). At the end of a case, the system would produce a Closing Financial Statement which is retained for six years from the date the case was closed.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the annual cost of the Legal Aid Service in the Reading legal aid region. [65241]
§ Mr. HoonIn 1997–98, the gross cost of legal aid services paid for out of the Reading Legal Aid Area Office was £105 million. The figure includes payments on account, final bill payments, VAT and disbursements, where applicable. It excludes the amounts that the Board received in contributions, costs paid by other parties and damages, all of which are sent direct to the Legal Aid Board's Financial Services at its Headquarters in London. The amount of gross costs paid to the legal profession nationally in 1997–98 was £1,612 million.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what systems are in place(a) nationally and (b) in the Reading legal aid region to ensure that client overpayments of contribution are returned. [65103]
§ Mr. HoonLegal Aid contributions are paid by the assisted person by monthly instalments to the Legal Aid Board. Contributions are paid throughout the life of a case. Payments are normally sent direct to the Board's Financial Services at its Headquarters in London. All payments received are recorded centrally on the computer system. In the absence of information to the contrary, any excess contribution instalments received by the Legal Aid Board are treated as payments in advance of future instalments due. Repayments are not, therefore, made to the assisted person until the conclusion of a case unless specifically requested. Any overpayments made to the Legal Aid Board would be identified and accounted for at the end of the case.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people are employed by the Legal Aid Service(a) nationally and (b) in the Reading legal aid region. [65248]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board has 13 area offices and two offices in London housing its central function departments. The average number of permanent staff employed by the Board from April to November 1998 is 931 nationally, with 70 at the Reading area office.
In addition, the Legal Aid Board employs temporary staff on either a contract basis or for a specified period and who are included on the Board's payroll. The average number of temporary staff employed for the same period is 237 nationally and 6 at the Reading area office.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what sums are spent on training in the Legal Aid Service(a) nationally and (b) in the Reading legal aid region. [65249]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board provides a national training programme which ranges from the development of legal reference and training materials for caseworkers10W and quality auditors to senior management development programmes. During 1998–99, expenditure on the national training programme is expected to be £276,014.
In addition, £158,000 is allocated to 23 area and central function offices to provide local training initiatives which fall outside the national training programme. In-house on-the-job training is also provided in each office, after which performance is assessed by staff trained as trainers to identify any further staff development needs. Expenditure on local training initiatives undertaken within the legal aid area office in Reading is expected to be £5,000 by the end of the 1998–99 financial year.
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average level of non-collection of client contribution towards legal aid payment in(a) the Reading region and (b) nationally in the last year for which figures are available. [65101]
§ Mr. HoonIt is the Board's policy to pursue recovery of contributions in all cases unless it is evident that it would not be cost effective to do so. The average value of contributions written off during 1997–98, which are the latest figures available are:
£ Reading 287 Nationally 245
§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements have been made to monitor franchised legal aid firms(a) nationally and (b) in the Reading legal aid region. [65104]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board's arrangements for monitoring legal aid franchises apply nationally. Over a period of up to nine months, applicants for a legal aid franchise are subjected to two audits by the Board. A preliminary audit is carried out to ensure the applicants have developed appropriate procedures to meet the requirements set out in the Franchising Specification and to assess the effectiveness of implementation. If successful, a pre-contract audit will then be undertaken. The pre-contract audit will cover, in more detail, the requirements of the Franchising Specification, including the general and management requirements and transaction criteria, which are the Board's measure of the quality service process. Once a firm of solicitors has been awarded a legal aid franchise, the Board's liaison managers and franchise quality auditors will undertake regular audits of the firm's case files approximately every twelve months.