The following table shows the gross amounts paid to the solicitor firm Arani and Co during each of the last five financial years for legal aid, as recorded centrally.
Financial year Legal aid (£) 2002-03 225,000 2003-04 390,000 2004-05 295,000 2005-06 664,000 2006-07 770,000
The figures in the table are gross figures. They are inclusive of VAT at 17.5 per cent. and also disbursements where paid. The firm must pay the VAT to HM Revenue and Customs.
The total sum of payments received by a firm for legal aid work during any one year does not necessarily represent the value of the work carried out during that year. In particular, they are likely to include payments for work carried out in previous years.
Not all legal aid payments are recorded centrally in a way that can be readily attributed to individual solicitor firms. Also, not all payments made to solicitor firms are recorded in the database used to compile these figures. These include manual legal aid payments and payments made for proceedings in the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division and House of Lords.