2. Assessing the means of applicants
10. In its 1996 Report on Civil Legal Aid Means Testing
our predecessor Committee endorsed improvements in arrangements
to verify the means of applicants for civil legal aid. When an
application for legal aid is made, the Commission is obliged to
serve notice on the other party in the case. The number of representations
contesting eligibility for support, usually made by the other
party, has fallen from 18,000 in 1996-97 to 5,800 in 2001-02.
The Commission therefore considered that the current assessment
procedures were screening out a larger proportion of ineligible
applicants leading to the decline in representations received.[10]
11. The Commission's Special Investigations Unit,
comprising 13 staff, investigates the applications for legal aid
when significant issues about eligibility are raised, particularly
in costly cases. In 2001-02, the Unit concluded full investigations
into 150 civil cases, of which 85% led to the refusal or withdrawal
of funding or to an increase in contributions payable by the applicant.
Three successful prosecutions for false disclosure had been made
in the previous year. Where information on fraudulent claims might
be relevant to other agencies, for example the Benefits Agency,
the Commission said that it was bound under the Statute of Confidentiality
not to disclose information about legal aid applications to third
parties. The Lord Chancellor's Department suggested, however,
that recent legislation would now allow disclosure where there
was suspicion that an offence may have been committed.[11]
10 Q 153; C&AG's Report, para 2.20; 25th
Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, Civil Legal Aid
Means Testing (HC 314, Session 1995-96) Back
11
Qq 147-148, 150; C&AG's Report, para 2.22 Back
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