§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, (1) how many new solicitors firms have undertaken contracts with the Legal Services Commission since 2000. [165842]
(2) how many solicitors firms in England and Wales have withdrawn from a Legal Services Commission contract in each year since 2000. [165843]
§ Mr. LammyBetween January 2000 and 31 March 2004, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has awarded 755 new civil contracts to solicitors' firms. Since contracting for criminal legal aid began in April 2001, the LSC has awarded 412 new criminal contracts to solicitors' firms.
The LSC does not collect data centrally on the number of solicitors' firms that have withdrawn from legal aid work. The number of contracts that have been terminated by the LSC in each year (which includes cases where solicitors have withdrawn voluntarily) is set out below.
464WCivil Contracts
April 2000 to March 2001: 700
April 2001 to March 2002: 539
April 2002 to March 2003: 408
April 2003 to March 2004: 633
Criminal contracts
April 2001 to March 2002: 146
April 2002 to March 2003: 151
April 2003 to March 2004: 317