§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Attorney-General if the Lord Chancellor will order an inquiry into the way in which Ormskirk magistrates' court makes decisions on legal aid applications.
The Solicitor-GeneralNo. The Lord Chancellor is at present conducting a survey into legal aid in some 50 magistrates' courts of which Ormskirk is one. The purpose of the survey is to discover how far apparent differences in the grant or refusals of applications are due to different interpretations of the so called Widgery criteria and how far there may be other explanations, such as differences in the number of applications or the nature of cases coming before individual courts.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Attorney-General if, in the light of recent cases reported to the Lord Chancellor, he 406W is satisfied with the way in which Ormskirk magistrates' court makes decisions on legal aid; and if he will make a statement.