§ Sir Julian CritchleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what factors underlie the delay in paying costs to Mr. Colin Balchin following his acquittal at Kingston crown court, case number TO960656. [14355]
§ Mr. StreeterThe question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Huebner to Sir Julian Critchley, dated 13 February 1997
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to reply to your Question about the factors underlying the delay in paying costs to Colin Balchin.As Mr. Balchin's claim exceeds £4000 it was sent to the Central Taxing Team (CTT) for taxation. The CTT aims to complete taxation within 3 months of receipt of all of the claims in a case. Mr. Balchin's claim was ready for taxation in early September but was not taxed until 31 January. The delay was caused by a 65 per cent. increase in the work of the CTT over the past year which has created a backlog. Efforts are being made to tackle this backlog and the arrears have been reduced since September.