HC Deb 17 April 1996 vol 275 cc492-3W
Mr. McFall

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the 20 solicitors companies in rank order which have received the most money from the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the amount paid to them in each of the past five years. [24872]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

We have ascertained from the Scottish Legal Aid Board that detailed information regarding payments to solicitors' firms is available only for the past two financial years. The information, which has been supplied by the board, is set out in the tables and exclude outlays and payments to advocates.

The ranking reflects the size of the firm and the number of fee-earning solicitors, among other factors.

Table 1: Fees payments to firms 1994–95
Rank Total for 1994–95
1994–95 £
1 Ross Harper and Murphy 3,316,806.51
2 More and Co. 1,707,959.83
3 Bruce Short and Co. 1,622,307.08
4 Ian McCarry 1,385,988.83
5 Gordon Thomson and Co. 1,237,819.29
6 Blair and Bryden 1,222,292.28
7 George Mathers and Co. 1,184,485.15
8 Gilfedder and McInnes 1,123,296.91
9 Gallen and Co. 1,120,034.59
10 Grady and Co. 1,084,417.05
11 Adams 998,066.47
12 Drummond Miller 992,831.18
13 Robert Kerr 974,405.69
14 Livingstone Brown 896,895.50
15 McKay and Norwell 895,317.27
16 J C Hughes and Co. 879,920.98
17 Turnbull McCarron 854,051.46
18 Sinclairs 799,767.33
19 Milligan Telford and Morrow 762,136.74
20 McCourts 736,095.95
Table 2: Fees payments to firms 1995–96
Rank Total for 1995–96
1995–96 £
1 Ross Harper and Murphy 3,342,356.89
2 Bruce Short and Co. 1,379,641.85
3 Ian McCarry 1,233,680.24
4 George Mathers and Co. 1,191,677.25
5 More and Co. 1,154,260.29
6 Drummond Miller 1,145,386.66
7 Blair and Bryden 1,101,305.85
8 Gilfedder and McInnes 1,093,197.87
9 Adams 1,064,015.43
10 Robert Kerr 1,036,861.54
11 Turnbull McCarron 969,490.77
12 Livingstone Brown 946,357.95
13 Gallen and Co. 934,267.01
14 Gordon Thomson and Co. 901,707.41
15 Ness Gallagher and Co. 868,250.11
16 Sinclairs 867,449.20
Table 2: Fees payments to firms 1995–96
Rank Total for 1995–96
1995–96 £
17 J C Hughes and Co. 858,152.55
18 McKay and Norwell 831,929.28
19 Grady and Co. 816,362.06
20 Caesar and Howie 801,621.11