§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the costs to the Legal Aid Fund on immigration matters were in each financial year since 1996–97. [167180]
§ Mr. LammyIn the time available, it is not possible to identify separately the cost of immigration from asylum cases. The costs to the Legal Aid Fund on immigration and asylum matters in England and Wales for each financial year since 1996–97 are as follows:
£ million (net)1 1996–97 26.1 1997–98 35.2 1998–99 53.3 1999–2000 61.4 2000–01 81.1 2001–02 129.4 2002–03 176.2 2003–04 2204 1Approximately 10 per cent. of the total cast of immigration and asylum matters relates to immigration and nationality cases. 2 Provisional figure, subject to end-of-year adjustments.