§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Attorney-General (1) what was the annual
HIGHER COURTS Year Number of persons granted legal aid Expenditure Estimated average cost per person £ £ 1968–69 … … … … 42,836 3,063,748 71.52 1969–70 … … … … 51,790 4,036,005 77.93 1970–71 … … … … 61,930 5,353,699 86.45 1971–72 … … … … 69,444 6,161,000 88.72 1972–73 … … … … 70,696 8,160,274 115.43
MAGISTRATES' COURTS Year Number of cases involving legal aid Total Expenditure Estimated average cost per case £ £ 1968–69 … … … … 51,574 1,205,058 23.36 1969–70 … … … … 68,699 1,866,567 27.17 1970–71 … … … … 88,320 2,749,220 31.13 1971–72 … … … … 101,867 3,379,303 33.17 1972–73 … … … … 117,436 4,363,701 37.16 Expenditure in magistrates' courts is related to cases some of which involve more than one accused.