Legal Aid Ms Buck To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much his Department received from each other Government Department from the legal aid impact test in each year since 1999; (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. Bridget Prentice 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| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ms Buck To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the legal aid impact test; (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. Bridget Prentice 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.