§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what research his Department(a) has carried out, (b) has commissioned and (c) plans to
Official Hospitality Financial year LCD1 Legal Aid Board Court Service Public Trust Office 1980–81 Not available Not available Not available Not available 1987–88 18,886 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1990–91 19,023 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1991–92 20,895 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1992–93 20,697 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1993–94 20,477 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1994–95 16,647 Not exceeding £500 n/a n/a 1995–96 22,960 Not exceeding £500 6,605 914 1996–97 18,898 Not exceeding £500 4,400 982 1 May to 30 September 1997 4,336 Not exceeding £500 1,870 202 1 Includes figures for the Public Trust Office and Court Service up until 1995–96. The Public Trust Office became an Agency on 1 July 1994 and the Court Service on 1 April 1995. Data are not available for 1980–81 as this predates the operation of the department's computerised expenditure monitoring systems.
The Chief Executives of HM Land Registry and the Public Record Office will be replying separately.
Letter from Dr. Stuart Hill to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 16 December 1997
I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question on the expenditure on official hospitality. The information is as follows:
£ (i) 1980–81 Figure not available (ii) 1987–88 Figure not available (iii) 1990–91 7,413 (iv) 1991–92 13,993 (v) 1992–93 9,189 (vi) 1993–94 7,083 (vii) 1994–95 12,888 (viii) 1995–96 33,654 (ix) 1996–97 46,036 (x) 1st May-30th September 1997 23,337 112W
Hospitality is defined within the Land Registry as 'Local entertainment costs approved within central guidelines for visitors and/or meetings'. The amounts quoted in the last three years reflect the Land Registry's activities in the international arena with a marked increase in the number and duration of visits by officials responsible for land administration in other countries.carry out and publish concerning the effect of the extension of the use of conditional fee agreements and the withdrawal of legal aid for money claims on solicitors' firms; and at what cost. [21278]
§ Mr. HoonKPMG have been commissioned to undertake an analysis of the business case for a solicitor's firm to undertake money claims under conditional fee agreements without requiring that their clients pay money in advance. The cost of the proposal accepted is £61,000 excluding VAT and expenses.