HC Deb 27 April 2004 vol 420 cc895-6W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the legal aid budget. [168364]

Mr. Lammy

Legal aid expenditure for the year 2002–03 was £1,908 million in cash. Final figures for 2003–04 are not currently available; however, legal aid expenditure is expected to be £2,084 million in cash, and £1,819 million in resource. From 2003–04 legal aid is accounted for in both cash and resource terms, but no equivalent figure for resource is available for 2002–03.

Bob Spink

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions legal aid has been withdrawn because of fraudulent applications in each of the last three years. [167075]

Mr. Lammy

It is difficult to classify particular applications as deliberately fraudulent. The Commission has powers to investigate where doubts arise about whether a funded client is financially eligible for civil legal aid. Opponents or third parties can make representations about the merits of the case, the means of the applicant or both (mixed representations). Figures are provided in the table showing outcomes for these categories in each of the last three financial years for which it has finalised data:

Total

representations

closed out

 Cases where investigation led

to refusal/withdrawal/

amendment to certificate
2000–01
Means 2,871 1,010
Mixed 416 128
2001–02
Means 2,282 716
Mixed 306 80
2002–03
Means 1,984 676
Mixed 214 70

The Commission's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) deals with means assessments for individual applicants for legal aid which are difficult or contentious including cases of misrepresentation by applicants for publicly funded legal services. Figures on the number of cases in each year where investigation resulted in the refusal or withdrawal of funding or an increase in the contributions payable are set out as follows:

2000–01–319

2001–02–128

2002–03–152

For criminal legal aid, means assessment was used prior to 2001–02. The Court Service referred cases to the Commission's SIU where applicants had complex financial affairs. In 2000–01 98 investigation into criminal cases were concluded, following 181 referrals from the Court Service. 95 per cent. of investigations in criminal cases led to the refusal or withdrawal of funding. 47 investigations were concluded in 2001–02 relating to applications for criminal legal aid made prior to April 2001. In 85 per cent. of these cases, investigations resulted in a change to the decision regarding funding.