§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has made of the loss to the Legal Aid Funding Council from fraud in(a) 1994–95, (b) 1995–96, (c) 1996–97, (d) 1997–98 and (e) 1998–99. [74121]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board is responsible for the administration of legal aid.
An estimate of the amounts lost through fraud over the past five years cannot be provided as it is not possible to quantify accurately the amounts that have been fraudulently claimed. The claims will usually contain some element of bone fide work and the percentage 856W relating to false claiming cannot be accurately determined. However, the Legal Aid Board will seek to recover from solicitors any costs which were considered to be either wrongly or fraudulently claimed.
The total amounts recovered from either negotiating repayment, recouping from further claims submitted or rejecting the claims as a result of the Legal Aid Board's investigations were:
£ 1994–95 524,276 1995–96 1,180,770 1996–97 807,706 1997–98 1,081,000 1 April 1998 to 31 December 1998 317,308 The Legal Aid Board has an active approach to the prevention and detection of fraud or abuse of the legal aid scheme. Designated officers have been appointed in area offices to detect and investigate suspicious claims and take appropriate action at an early stage. It also has a Central Investigation section whose role is to undertake detailed investigations of suspected abuse or fraud referred to it. The Board's policy is to seek prosecution of individuals in all cases where there is substantial prima facie evidence of dishonesty.