§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 January 1998,Official Report, column 3, concerning consultation on legal aid changes, if he will list the representations received, those making them and the date of them, indicating which were in favour of his proposals and which against. [26508]
§ Mr. HoonThe information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In any event, before I made public the names of those who had written or had discussion with us and the substance of their representations, I would wish to ensure that I had their permission to do so. A full list will be maintained of those who respond to the formal consultation paper, which I expect to issue in the near future, which will make it clear that the names of those responding may be made public unless they request the Department not to do so.
§ Mr. WhiteTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what mechanisms are in place to establish whether a person has previously been in receipt of legal aid certificates, and what methods are used to determine if the person has a history of previous fraudulent claims. [25306]
§ Mr. HoonThe Legal Aid Board's existing computer systems do not enable it to identify easily whether an applicant has any previous legal aid history. The Board is currently implementing a new computer system which will enable it to identify any previous transactions involving that person and search those transactions to identify any previous fraudulent activity. The new computer system is already in place in one of the Board's 13 area offices and will be implemented nationally by the end of 1998.
The Board will complete, in February 1998, the transfer of responsibility for civil means assessment from the Benefits Agency. This will enhance the Board's ability to identify, from its own case records, any previous fraudulent activity by an applicant for legal aid.