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Legal Aid

Volume 407: debated on Wednesday 25 June 2003

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To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what powers the Lord Chancellor has in relation to the granting of legal aid support in civil actions. [120932]

Legal aid in civil cases is granted from the Community Legal Service (CLS) fund according to criteria set by the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor and approved by Parliament. However, although Noble and Learned Friend and I have Ministerial responsibility for the CLS scheme, individual decisions about funding in civil cases are entirely a matter for the Legal Services Commission, which is an independent body.The only involvement that Ministers have in individual cases occurs when the Commission, under s.6(8)(b) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, requests the Lord Chancellor to authorise exceptional funding to a case which is outside the scope of the CLS scheme. In such cases decisions are made according to the standard means and merits tests and according to criteria specific to exceptional funding applications.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs in what circumstances a court can deny payment of legal aid in civil actions where a legal aid certificate has previously been granted. [120933]

When a legal aid certificate is issued, the acting legal representatives are entitled to be paid what is considered to be reasonable when the costs are

Political affiliation
Commission areaTotalConservativeLabourLiberal DemocratPlaid CymruOtherUncommitted
Avon and Somerset838270178139032219
Bedfordshire277105573001273
Cambridgeshire358141784202374
Cheshire4761601275616270
City of London1325225130834
Cleveland4641651473803579
Cumbria309104582406117
Derbyshire4301601165502178
Devon and Cornwall708260111133072132
Dorset322130396702561
Durham294611071901988
Dyfed263636337402139
East Sussex396146784603393
Essex62024511599052109
Gloucestershire270131404302531
Gwent28469782072108
Hampshire780266142124045203
Hertfordshire4571471146304687
Humberside4441731154703475
Inner London7672832469707962
Isle of Wight65295100318
Kent815335152115047166
Leicestershire51117111960015146
Lincolnshire381157705224852
Middlesex95232929891073161
Norfolk4411529465030100
North-east London52811819046027147
North Yorkshire362138705502079

assessed (either by the court or the Legal Services Commission). Payment may be substantially reduced if a lawyer has acted outside the scope of his instructions, outlined in the terms of the funding certificate; or, if a lawyer was negligent in some way causing the courts to strike out a claim.

It is possible for costs to amount to nil when it is assessed that work done had no value or was unnecessary.

A lawyer has the right of appeal, if their payment is denied.