Legal Aid

Dr. Stoate
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal aid representation orders have been granted by magistrates courts in each month since the re-introduction of means testing for legal aid in 2006.

Maria Eagle
The following table shows the information requested. The numbers of orders reported as being granted each month are subject to minor adjustments as cases are processed and progress through the system.

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|              |Representation orders granted|
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|October 2006  |34,254                       |
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|November 2006 |44,281                       |
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|December 2006 |34,815                       |
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|January 2007  |47,842                       |
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|February 2007 |43,790                       |
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|March 2007    |46,849                       |
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|April 2007    |43,153                       |
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|May 2007      |47,501                       |
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|June 2007     |47,063                       |
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|July 2007     |47,974                       |
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|August 2007   |47,272                       |
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|September 2007|43,198                       |
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|October 2007  |48,573                       |
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|November 2007 |45,686                       |
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|December 2007 |33,968                       |
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Dr. Kumar
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of legal aid in the UK was in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle
The cost of legal aid in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland for each of the last 10 financial years is shown in the following table. Responsibility for legal aid in Scotland is devolved and is therefore a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

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|                 |1997-98|1998-99|1999-2000|2000-01|2001-02|2002-03|2003-04|2004-05|2005-06|2006-07|
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|England and Wales|1,529.6|1,628.1|1,550.1  |1,663.7|1,717.0|1,908.5|2,076.7|2,038.0|2,027.8|1,980.3|
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|Northern Ireland |28.9   |30.1   |34.7     |37.7   |41.5   |45.0   |49.9   |58.9   |57.5   |69.0   |
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|Total            |1,558  |1,658  |1,585    |1,701  |1,759  |1,954  |2,127  |2,097  |2,085  |2,049  |
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