§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Attorney-General if he will review the legal aid provision whereby a litigant may win damages from which the legal profession is entitled to deduct defence costs if the defendant fails to pay.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe legal aid authorities are required by law to retain, from any damages won by a legally aided plaintiff, an amount equal to that paid out of40W the legal aid fund in respect of the plaintiff's costs, if the defendant does not pay these costs. These costs include the solicitors' charges for conducting the case, barristers' and expert witnesses' fees and court fees. The Lord Chancellor does not propose to review this provision.