§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much of the legal aid budget has been earmarked to support cases(a) with a Human Rights Act 1998 element and (b) based on the Human Rights Act 1998; and if he will make a statement. [122809]
§ Mr. LockIn the Comprehensive Spending Review in 1998 we estimated that the cost to legal aid of implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 would be of the order of £40 million per annum. However, no separate estimates were made to distinguish costs in cases involving a Human Rights Act element from those exclusively brought under the Act.