§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's policy when(a) conducting legal proceedings and (b) seeking legal advice as to the circumstances in which Queen's Counsel should be instructed; and for each of the last three years (i) on how many occasions his Department instructed Queen's Counsel and (ii) what was the total cost of instructing Queen's Counsel.[81757]
§ Mr. MudieThe Department for Education and Employment, through the Treasury Solicitor's Department, predominately uses junior counsel when it is necessary to instruct counsel to provide legal advice or to conduct legal proceedings.
In civil cases, the two First Treasury Counsel are both junior counsel and they will advise and represent the government without a Queen's Counsel in many of its important cases. In addition, the Attorney-General maintains four panels of junior Counsel whom the Department for Education and Employment, as other departments, is expected to use for the majority of its civil litigation. The approval of the Attorney-General or the Solicitor-General is required before a Queen's Counsel can be instructed to appear for any government department in civil litigation.
In determining the level of counsel to use, the Department will consider the individual circumstances of each case. It will take into account, inter alia, the importance and sensitivity of the case, the complexity of the law, the weight and complexity of the evidence, and the degree of experience and expertise required before deciding whether to instruct Queen's Counsel or junior counsel.
The Department for Education and Employment instructed three Queen's Counsel in 1996–97, seven in 1997–98 and two in 1998–99. The total cost of instructing Queen's Counsel for each of the last three years was £9,212.00 in 1996–97, £14,617.00 in 1997–98 and £2,878.75 in 1998–99.