HC Deb 18 November 1996 vol 285 c424W
33. Mr. Tim Smith

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he last met the Law Society to discuss legal aid. [2869]

Mr. Streeter

I refer the hon. gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien).

Mr. Harry Greenway

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much legal aid was granted to(a) foreign nationals and (b) the indigenous population in each of the last three years; to how many individuals; and if he will make a statement. [3217]

Mr. Streeter

Information as to an applicant's nationality is not collected and is therefore not available. The Legal Aid Board does maintain a record of applications received from applicants resident outside the United Kingdom, but information on the cost to legal aid of those cases could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the total sum which may be made available to solicitors through the legal aid scheme in advance of the appropriate determination of the size of legal costs to be determined in legal aid cases; and if he will assess the advantages of charging interest payments on these sums in the last available year. [4729]

Mr. Streeter

Lawyers may claim on account 75 per cent. of the costs they estimate they have incurred for each of the first three years of a case. In 1995–96, of 372,611 bills paid, there had been overpayments of payments on account on 15,317 bills. The average overpayment was £552. Any overpayment is recovered, or more likely, set off against other payments due from the Legal Aid Board. Systems are in place to detect abuses and the Legal Aid Board actively pursues solicitors who abuse the scheme. The large majority of payments on account are however properly made for work properly done and there are no plans to introduce further costly systems in order to recover interest in the few cases where this would be appropriate.