§ Mr. DjanoglyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many firms have indicated to the Government in each of the last three calendar years that they plan to stop doing legal aid work. [185941]
§ Mr. LammyThe question cannot be answered in the terms specified, as the information is not held centrally.
However information relating to firms which have had their contracts withdrawn since 2000 was provided in a previous parliamentary question answered on 21 July 2004, Official Report , column 375W.
§ Mr. DjanoglyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will break down the cost of providing legal aid in immigration cases in each year since 1997 by(a) purpose for which aid was sought and (b) stage of process at which the application was made. [185945]
731W
§ Mr. LammyThe Legal Services Commission is not able to provide the information in the format requested, as it does not differentiate between immigration and asylum cases.
The total cost of providing legal aid for immigration and asylum matters in England and Wales for each financial year since 1997ߝ98 was as follows:
1£ million Total cost 1997–98 35.2 1998–99 53.3 1999–2000 61.4 2000–01 81.1 2001–02 129.4 2002–03 176.2 2003–04 200.5 1Net cash Records do not enable us to identify the point in the process at which funding was granted.