Information on the total cost of civil and criminal legal aid from 1999-2004
Legal aid is available in three main forms - advice and assistance, civil legal aid and criminal legal aid. Advice and assistance is available for both civil and criminal matters of law. It is also used in certain circumstances to provide legal representation, and is known as Assistance by Way of Representation (ABWOR) when used in this way. The following table includes the relevant costs of civil and criminal advice and assistance. ABWOR for 1999/2000 is represented by a joint figure as the split between civil and criminal legal assistance is not readily available for that year.
£000s | 1999-2000 | 2000-2001 | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 |
Civil | 48,379 | 47,875 | 47,163 | 47,792 | 51,246 |
Criminal | 76,950 | 79,663 | 85,489 | 92,636 | 102,130 |
ABWOR | 2,642 | | | | |
Total | 127,971 | 127,538 | 132,562 | 140,428 | 153,376 |
The sums above can be studied in greater detail in the Annual Reports that are published by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. These may be obtained by contacting the Scottish Legal Aid Board at 44 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7SW. Alternatively, annual reports since 1987 are available on the Board's website at http://www.slab.org.uk/publications/annual_reports/index.htm