Asked by: Michael McCann (Labour - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases funded by legal aid against his Department where public interest lawyers have represented clients were won by his Department in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Department does not centrally record information about the identity of claimants' representatives or information relating to claimants' funding arrangements. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Michael McCann (Labour - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases against his Department funded by legal aid public interest lawyers have represented clients in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Department does not centrally record information about the identity of claimants' representatives or information relating to claimants' funding arrangements. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Michael McCann (Labour - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Department for Work and Pensions in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases against the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. Opponents are not systematically recorded against Legal Aid cases.
The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past ten tears were:
Financial Year | Net Payments |
FY2003-2004 | £139,620.72 |
FY2004-2005 | £158,282.52 |
FY2005-2006 | £251,844.27 |
FY2006-2007 | £299,667.99 |
FY2007-2008 | £577,263.60 |
FY2008-2009 | £628,527.75 |
FY2009-2010 | £267,433.88 |
FY2010-2011 | £439,268.02 |
FY2011-2012 | £331,238.85 |
FY2012-2013 | £50,633.27 |
These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.
Asked by: Michael McCann (Labour - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases against her Department funded by legal aid public interest lawyers represented clients in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not keep a central record of which cases brought against
it are legally aided, or of the law firms that represent litigants.
Asked by: Michael McCann (Labour - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases funded by legal aid taken against her Department where public interest lawyers have represented clients were won by her Department each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not keep a central record of which cases brought against
it are legally aided, or of the law firms that represent litigants.