§ Mrs. Peacockasked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the proposed reforms of the legal aid system; and if he has any plans to extend legal aid to libel cases.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the proposals put forward in the 34th Legal Aid Annual Reports. The Lord Chancellor is grateful to The Law Society and the Legal Aid Advisory Committee for their reports, and to the advisory committee for its review of the principle underlying the eligibility limits for civil and criminal legal aid and of the non-financial criteria for the grant of legal aid in both civil and criminal proceedings, which he referred to them in 1983. The Government will give careful consideration to the recommendations they make in the light of the resource and other implications. The Lord Chancellor hopes that the advisory committee's report will provide the basis for an
228Wrespectively where homeless people are defined as persons in households accepted by the local authorities as being homeless. I refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment for the comparable figure for England.
§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the breakdown for each year since 1979 of the numbers of households accepted as homeless by Welsh local authorities; and what type of accommodation was made available for them, giving numbers of those housed in hostels, caravans, council houses or returned to relatives per each year.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe information is give in the following table:
informed discussion about the financial and non-financial criteria. The Lord Chancellor has no plans to extend legal aid to defamation proceedings.