Shamima Begum
(asked on 26th February 2024) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse was for legal fees relating to the Shamima Begum case.
Please note that legal aid is not paid directly to the individual in receipt of legal aid. Legal aid is paid to legal representatives to ensure access to justice.
The scope of immigration and asylum matters covered by legal aid are set out at Schedule 1 to Part 1 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
In civil legal aid cases an applicant must satisfy both a merits and strict financial eligibility test to qualify for legal aid (unless a specific exemption applies). If they do not satisfy these tests, then legal aid will not be made available to them. Applicants who meet the relevant financial eligibility thresholds may still be required to pay a significant contribution towards the costs of their case. The eligibility criteria are kept under review as the case progresses and legal aid may be withdrawn where they are no longer satisfied.
As at the time of writing, a total of £246,097.34 has been paid to legal aid providers in connection with representing Shamima Begum. A breakdown of these costs can be found in the table below:
Case Type | Matter/Proceeding | Start Date | End Date | Solicitors | Barristers | Total Costs |
Civil rep - Immigration | Special Immigration Appeals Commission - Asylum | 15/04/2019 | - | £0.00 | £238,000.34 | £238,000.34 |
Civil rep - Public Law | Action for Judicial Review - Pub Law | 23/08/2021 | - | £8,097.00 | £0.00 | £8,097.00 |
Total |
|
|
| £8,097.00 | £238,000.34 | £246,097.34 |
The costs include VAT and disbursements where applicable. Disbursements are expenses incurred which although paid by the Legal Aid Agency directly to legal aid providers, are then paid to other parties involved in the case.