§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) when was the last occasion upon which advice was received on the matter of civil eligibility for legal aid from the Scottish Legal Aid Board;
(2) if he will implement advice given by the Scottish Legal Aid Board in 1991 in its response to his Department's consultation paper on eligibility for civil legal aid in Scotland to the effect that the fixed upper limit should be abolished and replaced by some other form of universal eligibility or flexible upper limit;
(3) what representations he has received from the Scottish Legal Aid Board following implementation of the new financial limits for eligibility for legal aid.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy right hon. Friend has received no representations from the Scottish Legal Aid Board on the question of eligibility for civil legal aid since the advice on proposed changes to eligibility for advice and assistance referred to in my reply to the hon. Members question of 12 February 1993,Official Report, columns 849–50. In setting eligibility limits, the Government must make a judgement as to the correct level, having regard on the one hand to providing access to legal services to those unable to afford them, and on the other to the need to control the level of public expenditure. Against this background, the Government have no plans to abolish the fixed upper eligibility limit.