asked the Attorney-General what proportion of criminal cases and civil cases, respectively, were conducted with the help of legal aid in each year since 1970.
The information requested is not available for civil cases. Figures of the proportion of defendants and appellants who were legally aided in various types of criminal proceedings in the years 1970–77 were published in tables 7.1–7.3 of Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1977 (Cmnd. 7289). Figures for 1978 and 1979 are given in the table below.
| Proportion of defendants and appellants who were legally aided, by type of proceedings | ||
| England and Wales | Percentage | |
| Type of proceedings | 1978 | *1979 |
| Magistrates' courts proceedings | ||
| Trial of adults for: | ||
| indictable offences | 58 | — |
| indictable/triable-either way/offences* | — | 59 |
| non-indictable offences | 2 | — |
| summary offences* | — | 2 |
| Proceedings relating to committal for trial | 70 | 67 |
| All criminal proceedings at juvenile courts | 22 | 27 |
| Crown Court proceedings | ||
| Trials at the Crown Court | 96 | 96 |
| Appearance for sentence following conviction at a magistrates' court | 98 | 98 |
| Appeals against a decision of a magistrates' court | 62 | 64 |
| Proceedings at the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) | 86 | 88 |
| * Indictable/triable-either way and summary offence categories apply in 1979. | ||
asked the Attorney-General how much has been spent on legal aid in criminal cases and civil cases, respectively, in each year since 1970 at constant prices.
| Month | Number of complaints assault (files opened) | Number of completed prosecutions recorded to date | Number of convictions | Percentage of convictions per prosecutions |
| 1980 | ||||
| January | 223 | 0 | — | — |
| February | 225 | 3 | 2 | 67 |
Net expenditure on legal aid in England and Wales since 1970–71, at constant September 1970 prices, was as follows;—
| Legal aid in criminal cases | Legal aid in civil cases | Legal Advice and Assistance* | |
| £m | £m | £m | |
| 1970–71 | 8·0 | 6·3 | 0·3 |
| 1971–72 | 8·5 | 6·8 | 0·5 |
| 1972–73 | 11·7 | 8·4 | 0·4 |
| 1973–74 | 12·6 | 7·7 | 1·0 |
| 1974–75 | 15·4 | 8·2 | 1·8 |
| 1975–76 | 16·8 | 8·7 | 2·3 |
| 1976–77 | 16·5 | 97 | 2·4 |
| 1977–78 | 17·2 | 9·9 | 2·4 |
| 1978–79 | 18·5 | 9·4 | 3·2 |
| 1979–80 | 19·3 | 8·4 | 3·7 |
| * The Legal Advice and Assistance Act 1972 came into operation in April 1973. | |||
asked the Attorney-General what proposals he has to change the rules for entitlement to legal aid in criminal and civil cases, respectively.
No proposals are envisaged for significant change in the rules for entitlement in the immediate future.