HC Deb 27 November 1984 vol 68 cc407-8W
Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney-General if he will give a breakdown by region of the total amounts paid out in legal aid in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The Attorney-General

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to those parts of the legal aid scheme administered by The Law Society through its legal aid area offices. Payment of legal aid bills by The Law Society is administered centrally and a breakdown of the figures by area offices could not be provided without disproportionate cost. The total gross payments made to solicitors and counsel by The Law Society in each of the last three financial years is as follows:

£ million
1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Civil legal aid 71.3 105.1 115.1
Criminal legal aid (magistrates' courts) 48.1 56.1 62.2
Legal advice and assistance 32.8 40.3 47.3

The net cost of the schemes, taking into account receipts by way of contributions, damages etc. was:

£ million
1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Civil legal aid 42.7 68.0 70.8
Criminal legal aid (magistrates' courts) 46.8 54.9 60.8
Legal advice and assistance 31.7 38.8 45.5

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney-General if he will give a breakdown by region of the total number of complaints about delays in the processing of legal aid applications in each of the last three years.

The Attorney-General

This information is not collected.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney-General how many staff are employed in each of the No. 8 and No. 9 regional offices processing applications for legal aid; and what was the total salary bill for such staff in the last year for which figures are available.

The Attorney-General

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the No. 8 (northern) and No. 9 (north eastern) legal aid area offices of the Law Society. The number of staff at present employed in each of those offices dealing with civil legal aid applications is eight (area 8) and 11 (area 9). The cost of the salaries of those staff in financial year 1984–85 is expected to be approximately £79,000 (area 8) and £102,000 (area 9).

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney-General if he will give a breakdown by regional office of the average length of time taken to process an application for legal aid.

The Attorney-General

This information is readily available only on a national basis. In 1983–84 the average time taken to process an application for civil legal aid was 38 working days.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney-General how many cases of applications for legal aid have been dealt with in the No. 9 and No. 8 regional offices in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The Attorney-General

I assume my hon. Friend is referring to The Law Society's number 8 (northern) and number 9 (north-eastern) legal aid area offices. The figures for applications received in those offices for civil legal aid in the past five years are as follows:

Area 8 Area 9
1979–80 15,857 24,545
1980–81 11,568 18,061
1981–82 12,386 18,886
1982–83 13,328 20,499
1983–84 15,074 22,619

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Attorney General if he will give a breakdown by region of the total numbers of applications for legal aid funding which were turned down in the last year for which figures are available.

The Attorney-General

The number of applications for civil legal aid which were refused by each of The Law Society's area offices in 1983–84 is as follows:

Legal Aid Area Refused on legal grounds Refused on financial grounds
No. 1 London (South) 923 467
No. 2 South-Eastern 785 211
No. 3 Southern 732 809
No. 4 South-Western 1,932 690
No. 5 South Wales 486 404
No. 6 West Midland 1,158 505
No. 7 North-Western 1,333 728
No. 8 Northern 1,666 253
No. 9 North-Eastern 2,578 378
No. 10 East Midland 1,283 441
No. 11 Eastern 1,105 387
No. 12 Chester and N. Wales 924 265
No. 13 London (East) 869 397
No. 14 London (West) 839 461
No. 15 Merseyside 1,418 462