HC Deb 24 May 1995 vol 260 cc602-3W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been spent on legal aid in each of the five years. [24790]

Mr. John M. Taylor

Net expenditure on legal aid in each of the last five years was as follows:

  • 1990–91: £682 million
  • 1991–92: £906 million
  • 1992–93: £1,093 million
  • 1993–94: £1,210 million
  • 1994–951: £1,294 million
1 Estimated outturn

Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of the overall cost of legal aid has been spent on administration in each of the last five years. [24769]

Mr. John M. Taylor

The total cost of legal aid over the past five years has been:

  • 1990–91: £682 million
  • 1991–92: £906 million
  • 1992–93: £1,093 million
  • 1993–94: £1,210 million
  • 1994–951: £1,294 million

The Legal Aid Board is responsible for administering the majority of that expenditure, namely:

  • 1990–91: £526 million
  • 1991–92: £720 million
  • 1992–93: £873 million
  • 1993–94: £974 million
  • 1994–951: £1,032 million

The cost of the Legal Aid Board's administration are met by separate provision as follows:

  • 1990–91: £33.2 million
  • 1991–92: £41.2 million
  • 1992–93: £43.7 million
  • 1993–94: £47.5 million
  • 1994–951: £49.0 million

This gives the following figures for the board's administration costs as a percentage of the legal aid money that the board deals with:

  • 1990–91: 5.9 per cent.
  • 1991–92: 5.4 per cent.
  • 1992–93: 4.8 per cent.
  • 1993–94: 4.7 per cent.
  • 1994–951: 4.5 per cent.

The remainder of legal aid expenditure relates to criminal legal aid in the higher criminal courts, which is administered by the courts concerned. It is not possible to isolate the costs to the courts of administering this part of the legal aid scheme.

Note:

1 Figures for 1994–95 are estimated.