§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Attorney-General whether, in view of the annual uprating in November of each year of the levels of eligibility for and liability to contribute to civil legal aid, and of the levels of supplementary benefits, he proposes to uprate annually, in line with and at the same time as those schemes, the figures for ((a) liability to contribute to and eligibility for criminal legal aid, and (b) the deductions allowable from income in respect of dependants.
§ Mr. JohnI have been asked to reply.
Eligibility for legal aid in criminal proceedings is not governed by prescribed income levels. The court may grant legal 740W aid where it appears to the court that the defendant's means are such that he requires assistance in meeting the costs of his defence.
There are Assessment of Resources Regulations relating to the items of capital and income which the court may take into account when considering whether or not to order the defendant to make a contribution—which is ordinarily done when the proceedings are concluded. These regulations are updated from time to time, the last occasion being 1st March. In addition, the courts were invited from the outset of the present criminal legal aid scheme to ensure that their standards in this respect were no less favourable to a defendant than those applied in civil cases.