§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the cost was in the financial year 2000–01 of judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings involving asylum seekers. [52765]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonI apologise for the delay in replying. The cost to public funds of running the Immigration Appellate Authority for the year 2000–01 was £35.4 million. This does not, however, take account of accommodation costs and costs for court service provided services such as personnel and training. It should also be noted that these costs also cover the immigration work undertaken by the IAA as well as asylum cases.
Figures are not available for the running costs of asylum cases taken to the higher courts. The High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords do not break down their costs by case type.
In addition to this, the Legal Services Commission paid out £81.3 million in public funding (formerly known as legal aid) for Immigration and Asylum during 2000–01. Of this, £4.9 million was paid out for bills relating to representation at the High Court. The remainder (£76.4 million) was paid out for Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation in immigration and asylum matters. The figures on Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation include cases before the Immigration Adjudicator and Appeals Tribunal, but also include work carried out on cases that completed prior to a hearing (for example a successful initial application).