§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many legal aid franchises have been issued in the last five years; how many legal aid franchises there are in each parliamentary constituency; and how lists of these franchise holders will be made available to the public. [109518]
§ Mr. LockThe first Legal Aid Board Franchises were awarded in August 1994–95 and by the end of that financial year a total of 1,050 solicitors' offices and other organisations had been franchised. This total rose to 1,295 by the end of 1995–96, to 1,820 by the end of 1996–97, to 2,382 by the end of 1997–98 and to 2,780 by the end of 1998–99. In the lead-up to the introduction of civil contracting in January 2000, the numbers continued to rise and on 10 February 2000 stood at 3,697. 2,000 further offices and organisations have applied for a franchise and passed a preliminary audit.
The Legal Aid Board does not keep information on the numbers of legal aid franchises in each parliamentary constituency. Their franchising and contracting data are structured in line with Local Authority boundaries and Regional Legal Service Committees bid zones.
Information on franchised solicitors is currently available from the Legal Aid Board's Freephone helpline or on request from any of the Board's offices. On 3 April 2000 the Community Legal Service Directory will be published. All franchised holders will be listed in the Directory and will be marked with a Community Legal Service Quality Mark. Copies of the Directory will be available at all Community Legal Service approved outlets and at other information providing outlets and at other information providing outlets such as main libraries. In addition an electronic version of the Directory will be available via the Internet.