§ 120. Mr. Marloweasked the Attorney-General the average delay in legal-aid cases between the end of the litigation and settlement of the costs by the Law Society; how much of the period of delay is attributable to taxation of costs; what delay takes place after completion of taxation; and whether he will require a special report to be made in all cases which have not been disposed of at the expiry of six months after the litigation.
The Attorney-General: No information is available of the average time taken by barristers in submitting their fee notes to the solicitors or of the time taken by those solicitors in submitting their bills for taxation and, thereafter, in sending the allocaturs to the Law Society. I am, therefore, unable to give an average figure for the overall delay in these cases.
The figures for the average time taken to tax bills in the Supreme Court Taxing Office are set out in the answer to the next Question; other taxing offices are no slower. The average time taken by the Law Society's area committees and Accounts Department to clear the allocaturs and pay the costs and fees is three weeks. With regard to the last part of my hon. and learned Friend's question, I will refer his suggestion to the Law Society which, as the body responsible for the administration of the Legal Aid Scheme, is the proper body to conduct any inquiry which may be necessary.