§ Baroness Turner of Camdenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any savings have been made in legal aid expenditure since the introduction of the Conditional Fee Agreements Regulations in April 2000; and, if so, how much. [HL262]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe Legal Services Commission does not record case data in a way that would enable an answer to be given to the exact Question asked.
Conditional fee arrangements are most widely used in personal injury cases as claims relating to negligently caused injury are excluded from public funding under Schedule 2 to the Access to Justice Act 1999 on the basis that such matters are suitable for conditional fee arrangements.
Net savings to the Community Legal Service Fund from the introduction of conditional fee arrangements in personal injury cases in the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2002 are estimated at £85 million.