§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Attorney-General if he will give details of the costs out of public funds ordered by the courts in each of the years from 1986 to 1990.
§ The Attorney-GeneralCourts may order costs out of public funds in two circumstances. In civil proceedings where one of the parties is legally aided, the court can award costs against the legal aid fund in favour of a successful non-legally aided party. In criminal proceedings 317W the court can order the costs of a defendant or a private prosecutor to be paid from central funds. The information requested is collected on a financial year basis and for the years in question is as follows:
£ million 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 Costs of successful non-legally aided parties 0.280 0.227 0.446 0.524 Costs from Central Funds: Orders made in Magistrates Courts 11.050 3.082 3.825 1— Orders made in Crown Court and higher courts 30.522 4.380 4.047 4.751 Total 41.852 7.689 8.318 5.275 1 This information is not yet available.