§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions in each of the last five years legal aid certificates have been discharged by the Legal Aid Committee or legal aid department of the Law Society of Northern Ireland when evidence that incorrect information was supplied by claimants for the purpose of legal aid was established. [10955]
§ Mr. StreeterSince 1 April 1994, 13 legal aid certificates have been revoked on account of false statements being made on applications. One was revoked in 1994–95, 11 in 1995–96 and one in the current financial year.
§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many prosecutions having been initiated against persons who succeeded in obtaining legal aid certificates were later discharged when it was established that the award was based on incorrect information supplied by applicants, in each of the last five years in Northern Ireland. [10956]
§ Mr. StreeterRecords relating to the requested information have been maintained by the legal aid authorities since 1 April 1994. Since that time, there has been one case in which a legal aid certificate was revoked and the application for legal aid was referred for investigation by the police. The case is under investigation.
§ Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been paid by the legal aid fund during the last three years and so far this year to help in respect of cases under the Asylum and Immigration Acts. [11215]
§ Mr. StreeterThe information requested is not available since the data gathered by the Legal Aid Board does not identify separately cases brought under the Asylum and Immigration Acts.
Assistance for people in immigration and nationality matters is provided through the legal aid scheme in two ways. First, advice and assistance is available through the green form scheme and secondly through the civil legal aid scheme by way of a judicial review of an administrative decision.
Figures for the number of claims for green form advice and assistance paid by the Legal Aid Board over the last three financial years are as follows:
Year Amount (£000) 1993–94 11,295 1994–95 14,572 1995–96 23,929 1996–97 to January 1997 20,039 It is not possible to give figures for civil legal aid expenditure relating to immigration and nationality matters since the Legal Aid Board does not record judicial review cases by category of proceedings.