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1216248

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Legal Aid Agency has paid out (a) since 31 March 2020 and (b) for a comparable period of time in the last three years with regard to (i) closed cases and (ii) payments on account.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>The most recent statistics published for the Legal Aid Agency cover up to and including March 2020. Figures for quarters of the 2020/21 financial year are scheduled for future release, and as such payment data for part (a) of question 62405 cannot yet be provided. The figures for part (b) of the question are displayed below, matching the equivalent period of April, May and June inclusive for each financial year:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Claims for Civil Representation – First Quarter Only</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Completed case expenditure (where costs met by LAA)</p></td><td><p>Payments on account (live cases)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2017/18</p></td><td><p>£153,943,450.58</p></td><td><p>£53,508,814.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2018/19</p></td><td><p>£149,331,830.09</p></td><td><p>£61,087,711.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2019/20</p></td><td><p>£168,696,887.77</p></td><td><p>£68,007,236.47</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The figure of £100m referred to by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State was based upon estimates produced by the Ministry of Justice relating to unbilled work for completed cases. The breakdown of the estimates is as follows:</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>All of the above estimates of unbilled work pertain to the position as at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020.</p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amounts available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to unbilled work on completed matters were –</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amount available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to payment on account for civil matters pertaining to representation in the civil and family courts was <strong>£165m</strong>.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62406 62407 question first answered 30/06/2020 15:56:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1216249

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral evidence of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State's evidence to the Justice Select Committee on 4 May 2020, Q131 HC299, what the unbilled amount of legal aid of over £100m is by legal area.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>The most recent statistics published for the Legal Aid Agency cover up to and including March 2020. Figures for quarters of the 2020/21 financial year are scheduled for future release, and as such payment data for part (a) of question 62405 cannot yet be provided. The figures for part (b) of the question are displayed below, matching the equivalent period of April, May and June inclusive for each financial year:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Claims for Civil Representation – First Quarter Only</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Completed case expenditure (where costs met by LAA)</p></td><td><p>Payments on account (live cases)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2017/18</p></td><td><p>£153,943,450.58</p></td><td><p>£53,508,814.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2018/19</p></td><td><p>£149,331,830.09</p></td><td><p>£61,087,711.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2019/20</p></td><td><p>£168,696,887.77</p></td><td><p>£68,007,236.47</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The figure of £100m referred to by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State was based upon estimates produced by the Ministry of Justice relating to unbilled work for completed cases. The breakdown of the estimates is as follows:</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>All of the above estimates of unbilled work pertain to the position as at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020.</p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amounts available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to unbilled work on completed matters were –</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amount available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to payment on account for civil matters pertaining to representation in the civil and family courts was <strong>£165m</strong>.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62405 62407 question first answered 30/06/2020 15:56:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1216251

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the funds available to legal aid practitioners with regard to (a) unclaimed costs for completed matters and (b) payments on account.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>The most recent statistics published for the Legal Aid Agency cover up to and including March 2020. Figures for quarters of the 2020/21 financial year are scheduled for future release, and as such payment data for part (a) of question 62405 cannot yet be provided. The figures for part (b) of the question are displayed below, matching the equivalent period of April, May and June inclusive for each financial year:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Claims for Civil Representation – First Quarter Only</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Completed case expenditure (where costs met by LAA)</p></td><td><p>Payments on account (live cases)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2017/18</p></td><td><p>£153,943,450.58</p></td><td><p>£53,508,814.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2018/19</p></td><td><p>£149,331,830.09</p></td><td><p>£61,087,711.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 2019/20</p></td><td><p>£168,696,887.77</p></td><td><p>£68,007,236.47</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The figure of £100m referred to by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State was based upon estimates produced by the Ministry of Justice relating to unbilled work for completed cases. The breakdown of the estimates is as follows:</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>All of the above estimates of unbilled work pertain to the position as at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020.</p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amounts available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to unbilled work on completed matters were –</p><ul><li>Criminal Legal Aid in relation to representation in the Crown Court and Higher Courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£130m</strong></p><ul><li>Civil Legal Aid in relation to representation in the civil and family courts</li></ul><p>- <strong>£80m</strong></p><p> </p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020, the estimate produced by the Ministry of Justice of the amount available for legal aid providers to claim in relation to payment on account for civil matters pertaining to representation in the civil and family courts was <strong>£165m</strong>.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62405 62406 question first answered 30/06/2020 15:56:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1216254

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the Standard Monthly Payments received by legal aid firms to support those firms during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>Firms can elect to be paid by either Standard or Variable Monthly Payments, according to which model may be most advantageous to them. The MoJ continues to review the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on legal aid providers and to consider what more might be done to support them. The Legal Aid Agency has published the details of the current options for financial relief available to providers during the COVID-19 outbreak at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners</a>.</p><p>The number of active housing legal aid providers is published by the Legal Aid Agency online, and has remained largely static since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak has affected the volume of work available to housing legal aid firms, and we are closely monitoring this impact.</p><p>At present housing advice is available at 434 offices in England and Wales. The volume of providers holding legal aid contracts at any given time is subject to change due to market forces and other factors. From March to the present date, 7 offices in total have ceased to provide housing services, due to reasons not specifically associated with the effects of COVID-19.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice held a consultation on increasing the number of requests for payment on account that may be made per year. The consultation closed on 16 June 2020, and the limit will be increased from two to four permissible within a twelve-month period. This will be implemented once the necessary updates to infrastructure are completed, and the impact of this change will be kept under review.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62410 62411 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:13 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1216255

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of housing legal aid providers.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>Firms can elect to be paid by either Standard or Variable Monthly Payments, according to which model may be most advantageous to them. The MoJ continues to review the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on legal aid providers and to consider what more might be done to support them. The Legal Aid Agency has published the details of the current options for financial relief available to providers during the COVID-19 outbreak at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners</a>.</p><p>The number of active housing legal aid providers is published by the Legal Aid Agency online, and has remained largely static since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak has affected the volume of work available to housing legal aid firms, and we are closely monitoring this impact.</p><p>At present housing advice is available at 434 offices in England and Wales. The volume of providers holding legal aid contracts at any given time is subject to change due to market forces and other factors. From March to the present date, 7 offices in total have ceased to provide housing services, due to reasons not specifically associated with the effects of COVID-19.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice held a consultation on increasing the number of requests for payment on account that may be made per year. The consultation closed on 16 June 2020, and the limit will be increased from two to four permissible within a twelve-month period. This will be implemented once the necessary updates to infrastructure are completed, and the impact of this change will be kept under review.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62409 62411 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:13 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1216256

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing legal aid firms to bill more than twice in 12 months for money owed on cases.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	62411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>Firms can elect to be paid by either Standard or Variable Monthly Payments, according to which model may be most advantageous to them. The MoJ continues to review the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on legal aid providers and to consider what more might be done to support them. The Legal Aid Agency has published the details of the current options for financial relief available to providers during the COVID-19 outbreak at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners</a>.</p><p>The number of active housing legal aid providers is published by the Legal Aid Agency online, and has remained largely static since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak has affected the volume of work available to housing legal aid firms, and we are closely monitoring this impact.</p><p>At present housing advice is available at 434 offices in England and Wales. The volume of providers holding legal aid contracts at any given time is subject to change due to market forces and other factors. From March to the present date, 7 offices in total have ceased to provide housing services, due to reasons not specifically associated with the effects of COVID-19.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice held a consultation on increasing the number of requests for payment on account that may be made per year. The consultation closed on 16 June 2020, and the limit will be increased from two to four permissible within a twelve-month period. This will be implemented once the necessary updates to infrastructure are completed, and the impact of this change will be kept under review.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 62409 62410 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:13 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1204280

registered interest
date	16/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Gambling: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are in custody for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
uin	59910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>In answering these questions we have interpreted people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction as people who are in custody for these crimes because of their gambling addiction.</p><p>It has not been possible to estimate the numbers of people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes because of their gambling addiction, and the numbers of people who are remanded in custody post-conviction for these crimes, because this specific data could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost to the department.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 59911 question first answered 24/06/2020 10:10:27 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden

1204282

registered interest
date	16/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Gambling: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are in custody on (a) remand and (b) as a result of a conviction for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
uin	59911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>In answering these questions we have interpreted people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction as people who are in custody for these crimes because of their gambling addiction.</p><p>It has not been possible to estimate the numbers of people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes because of their gambling addiction, and the numbers of people who are remanded in custody post-conviction for these crimes, because this specific data could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost to the department.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 59910 question first answered 24/06/2020 10:10:27 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden

1201737

registered interest
date	09/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid claims for asylum appeal cases exceeded the escape fee from legal aid providers in (a) London and (b) England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	57186
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2020 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>FINANCIAL YEAR</p></td><td><p>LONDON ESCAPE CLAIMS</p></td><td><p>ALL ESCAPE CLAIMS</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>415</p></td><td><p>469</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>462</p></td><td><p>507</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>528</p></td><td><p>600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20*</p></td><td><p>347</p></td><td><p>404</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>*Please note: The figures for the year 2019-20 covers only the months April to December 2019.</strong></p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 15/06/2020 16:33:32 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1198079

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Police Stations: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on free and independent police station advice across England and Wales in the most recent period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	51897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Expenditure on police station advice is published as part of Legal Aid Agency’s Quarterly Statistics. This data can be viewed by accessing Column ‘L’ of the table 2.2 at this link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>The number of claims received by the Legal Aid agency for police station attendances is also published in the Legal Aid Agency’s Quarterly Statistics at table 2.1, please note that the number of claims for ‘attendances’ can be found at Column C. These are a specific subset of total claims for all types of police station advice which can be found at Column L of the same table</p><p> </p><p>This information is not held by the Ministry of Justice because the Legal Aid Agency does not record this type of information about Legal Aid Providers.</p><p> </p><p>Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than 1 office. There are currently 1,147 firms holding a criminal legal aid contract, and this equates to 1,697 offices. This data is correct at 3rd June 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2021/21 (at June 20)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Firms</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>87</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>115</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Offices</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>87</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note ‘New firms’ may be the result of mergers and acquisitions outside of the tender process. Firms may have withdrawn and then re-entered into new contract later. This data has been provided on yearly basis as the data is too granular to provide month on month changes - the year end position has been shown for active firms/offices. There were formal tenders in 2010 and 2017, hence the larger numbers. In 2015/16 after the competitive tender was set aside new firms that had been successful in their bid for an own client contract were allowed to deliver services. The data is correct at 3rd June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>As at 1 June 2020 we have 4455 duty solicitors listed on our database allocated slots for the current rota period. The LAA publishes the duty solicitor rotas here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1st-april-2020-to-september-30-2020---first-publication" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1st-april-2020-to-september-30-2020---first-publication</a></p><p> </p><p>There are 2063 reps which includes probationary and accredited on the current list and it is published here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-crime-contract-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-crime-contract-2017</a></p><p> </p><p>We are aware that the Covid19 restrictions have had an impact on the volume of work conducted by Legal Aid providers. The LAA have been in contact with providers to assess the impact on their businesses. Many have reported taking advantage of the schemes made available by HMT and we continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 51898 51899 51900 51901 51902 51903 51905 question first answered 09/06/2020 10:17:19 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner