(2) what proportion of money received from other Government Departments as a consequence of the legal aid impact test in the last 10 years has been allocated to the legal aid fund.
Funding received from other Government Departments for legal aid since 2005-06, when the legal aid impact test was introduced, is shown in the following table.
All the funding received was allocated to the legal aid fund.
£000 2005-06 Department for Education and Skills—Adoption and Children Act 2002 1,868 2006-07 Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs—Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 35 2007-08 Home Office—Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 178 2008-09 Home Office—Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 283 Home Office automatic deportation 705 Department for Work and Pensions—Child Support Reform Funding 3,200 Department of Health—Mental Health Tribunal funding 790 Department for Work and Pensions—Employment and Support Allowance funding 760 2009-10 Home Office—Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 286 Department for Work and Pensions Employment and Support Allowance (jobcentre plus) Appeals Court funding 4,600 Department for Work and Pensions—Child Support Reform Funding 4,500 Department of Health—Mental Health Tribunal funding 1,891 Home Office—European Environment Agency modelling 135 Home Office—automatic deportation 1,190 Total 20,421
(2) what guidance his Department provides to other Departments on completing the legal aid impact test; and what models and analysis are used to assess the impact of proposed legislation on the legal aid budget;
(3) what research his Department has conducted into the effectiveness of the legal aid impact test.
The legal aid and judicial impact test (LAJIT) was introduced in 2005 to formalise the arrangements under which Departments responsible for policy change had an obligation to meet the downstream costs falling to other agencies. The purpose of the LAJIT is to ensure that policy makers are aware of the potential impact that their proposals could have on legal aid and the courts so that resources can be better managed and, where appropriate, funding secured from other Government Departments. The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) has oversight of the overall Impact Assessment process across Government, and owns the relevant templates and guidance. Its guidance toolkit includes specific guidance for policy makers in Departments on the LAJIT.
The models and analysis used to assess the impact of proposed policy changes on the legal aid budget include identifying instances where legal aid could potentially be required and applying suitable unit costs. These estimates are agreed between the MoJ and the Department introducing the policy.
No formal research or assessment of the legal aid impact test has been carried out. The BRE is, however, revising the impact assessment template, toolkit and guidance in order to promote the continued improvement of impact assessments. This work is due for completion in the first half of 2010. As part of that project, Ministry of Justice officials are working with BRE to review the legal aid impact test.