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Mr. Ralph Howell
To ask the Attorney-General if he will give details of the costs out of public funds ordered by the courts in each of the years from 1986 to 1990.
The Attorney-General
Courts may order costs out of public funds in two circumstances. In civil proceedings where one of the parties is legally aided, the court can award costs against the legal aid fund in favour of a successful non-legally aided party. In criminal proceedings the court can order the costs of a defendant or a private prosecutor to be paid from central funds. The information requested is collected on a financial year basis and for the years in question is as follows:
| £ million | ||||
| 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 | 1989–90 | |
| Costs of successful non-legally aided parties | 0·280 | 0·227 | 0·446 | 0·524 |
| Costs from Central Funds: | ||||
| Orders made in Magistrates Courts | 11·050 | 3·082 | 3·825 | 1— |
| Orders made in Crown Court and higher courts | 30·522 | 4·380 | 4·047 | 4·751 |
| Total | 41·852 | 7·689 | 8·318 | 5·275 |
| 1 This information is not yet available. | ||||