HC Deb 16 February 1989 vol 147 c307W
Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Attorney-General what was the average time between the grant of a civil legal aid section 1 certificate and the payment for work done under that certificate and that in respect of all such certificates issued in each of the last 10 years.

The Attorney-General

The average time between the grant of a full civil legal aid certificate and the payment of the first main bill or notification of a nil claim in each of the last 10 years was as follows1

Non-matrimonial

(months)

 Matrimonial2

(months)
1978–79 30.3 14.0
1979–80 29.5 18.1
1980–81 29.1 19.7
1981–82 27.5 20.8
1982–83 28.2 22.7
1983–84 28.7 23.7
1984–85 28.0 24.3
1985–86 27.2 24.8
1986–87 28.4 25.6
1987–88 30.0 26.9
1 The figures provided are approximations only, based on the overall volume of certificates issued and bills paid during each year.
2 The figures produced relate to bills paid in respect of certificates issued after 1 April 1977. Information on certificates issued prior to that date is not available. This has necessarily distorted the true average time for matrimonial cases, particularly in the early years.