§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many awards have been made in each of the last three years to unassisted persons in terms of Section 13 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967; and what was the total sum paid out in each of these years.
§ Mr. RossIn 1965–66, one such award was made, amounting to £86. No payment was made in 1966–67. One payment of £300 was made in 1967–68.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of criminal cases in the last three years in which the accused was in receipt of criminal legal aid resulted in a conviction.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total sum paid out of the Legal Aid Fund as expenses to the Law Society of Scotland in terms of section 9 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967 in each of the last three financial years.
§ Mr. RossThe relevant information for the years 1965–66 and 1966–67 is contained in Schedules 8 and 8A of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Reports of the Law Society of Scotland on the legal aid scheme. Audited figures for the year ended 31st March, 1968, are not yet available.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make regulations under Section 5(5) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967 to bring income limits for legal aid applications under that section into line with those governing applications under Sections 1 and 2 of the Act.
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§ Mr. RossI have no plans at present for altering the income limits applying to the provision of legal aid under Section 5 of the Act.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fees of 2s. 6d. in terms of Section 7 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967 were paid into the Legal Aid Fund in each of the last three financial years.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of applications for legal aid received under Section 5 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967; and what was the total sum paid out under this section in each of the last three financial years.
§ Mr. RossApplications for legal aid under Section 5 of the Act totalled 6,907 in 1965–66, 7,042 in 1966–67 and 7,279 in 1967–68. It is not possible to separate payments made to solicitors under Sections 1 and 5 of the Act because some solicitors exercise the option, where a Section 5 certificate is followed by a certificate under Section 1, to render a combined account.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total sum recovered from persons who have received legal aid in respect of criminal and civil legal aid, respectively, in each of the last three financial years.
§ Mr. RossContributions paid by assisted persons in respect of civil proceedings amounted to £96,922, £108,851 and £125,669 respectively. There is at present no provision for the payment of contributions in criminal cases.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total sum paid out in legal aid in the last financial year inconnection with cases in the Court of Session, High Court of Justiciary, the sheriff courts throughout Scotland and those in the county of Lanark.
§ Mr. RossThe information is as follows:266W
£ Court of Session … 488,024 High Court of Justiciary … 60,963 Sheriff Courts … 593,083 Separate information is not available in respect of sheriff courts in the county of Lanark.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of Stale for Scotland how many applications were made for criminal legal aid in the last financial year; and how many were refused.
§ Mr. Ross11,541 applications for criminal legal aid (excluding appeals) were made in 1967–68, of which 1,368 were refused.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications for civil legal aid have been made in the last financial year, and how many have been refused.
§ Mr. Ross16,935 applications for civil legal aid under Sections 1 and 5 of the Act were made in 1967–68, of which 1,361 were refused.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what sum has been paid out in the last financial year under the provisions of Section 2(5) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1967.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many solicitors received fees under the legal aid scheme in respect of criminal and civil cases, respectively in the last financial year.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost of the legal aid schemes in Scotland in the last three financial years; and how much of this was disbursed in connection with applications for aid in civil cases and criminal cases, respectively.
§ Mr. RossThe relevant information for the years 1965–66 and 1966–67 is coli-tained in Schedules 8 and 8A of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Reports of the Law Society of Scotland on the legal aid scheme. Audited figures for the year ended 31st March, 1968 are not yet available.
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§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the sum disbursed under legal aid in the last financial year was paid to solicitors and how much to advocates.
§ Mr. RossThe information is as follows:
Civil Criminal £ £ Solicitor's charges … 442,973 423,677 Counsels' fees … 87,384 26,189 Outlays … 151,059 10,788