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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1371W—continued
Legal Aid
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid from residents of (a) Devon, (b) East Devon constituency and (c) England there have been in each of the last five years. [291940]
Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid advice are made to individual providers, and we record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made. Applications for civil legal aid representation are made to the Legal Services Commission. Not all applications are granted. The applications received for representation for the last five years in the requested areas is shown in the following table:
| Number | |||
| East Devon | Devon | England | |
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid there have been from residents of (a) Derbyshire, (b) Chesterfield constituency and (c) England in each of the last five years. [293666]
Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid advice are made to individual providers, and we record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made. Applications for civil legal aid representation are made to the Legal Services Commission. Not all applications are granted. The applications received for representation for the last five years in the requested areas is as follows:
| Financial years | Chesterfield | Derbyshire | England |
Legal Aid: Eligibility
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria are used to determine eligibility for legal aid. [291939]
Bridget Prentice: There are different eligibility criteria for civil and criminal legal aid:
Eligibility for legal aid in civil matters depends on the client satisfying the relevant financial eligibility criteria, and the case must pass a merits test and be within the scope of the scheme. Those in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, guarantee state pension credit or income related employment support allowance automatically qualify financially for legal aid. Otherwise, they can obtain 'free' or non-contributory assistance, if they have a gross monthly income of less than £2,657, a monthly disposable income below £315 and disposable capital of £3,000 or less. If their monthly disposable income is between £316 and £733, or disposable capital between £3,000 and £8,000, they will be offered funding on the basis that they agree to pay contributions towards their legal costs. On 6 April 2009 we increased the financial eligibility limits for civil legal aid by 5 per cent. to their current level.
The merits test considers whether legal aid applicants have reasonable grounds for taking, defending or being a party to proceedings, and that it is reasonable, in the particular circumstances of the case, for legal aid to be granted.
Eligibility for legal aid in criminal trials depends on the defendant satisfying the 'Interests of Justice' test and the relevant financial eligibility criteria. Suspects being held at the police station as part of a criminal investigation are automatically entitled to legal advice, regardless of income; this may be provided on a 'face to face' basis under the police station duty solicitor scheme, or for less serious offences, via a national telephone helpline.
The income-based means test for defendants appearing before the magistrates court weights the applicant's gross annual income to reflect their family and household circumstances. If an applicant's weighted gross annual income exceeds £22,325, they are financially ineligible for a grant of representation; if it is £12,475 or less, they are financially eligible for a grant of representation. All applicants in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, or the guaranteed state pension credit are automatically deemed financially eligible, as are applicants under the age of 18.
For those applicants whose adjusted gross annual incomes fall between the two thresholds, a more detailed assessment of their income is carried out. After certain deductions are made, if the applicant's disposable income does not exceed £3,398, they will be financially eligible under the new scheme.
Magistrates Courts: Closures
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates courts have been closed in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997. [293205]
Bridget Prentice:
The following table shows details of the magistrates court closures (broken down into (a)
rural and (b) non-rural areas) which have taken place since 1997.
| Number of magistrates courts closed in each year since 1997( 1) | |||||||
| Rural 75 | Rural 50 | Significant rural | Other urban | Large urban | Major urban | Total number of courts closed | |
| Rural 80( 2) | Rural 50 | Significant rural | Other urban | Large urban | Major urban | Total number of courts closed | |
| (1) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2006) has been used to define whether court closures took place in rural/urban areas. The classification divides constituencies into the following six categories: Rural 75: Over 75 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns) Rural 50: Over 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns) Significant rural: More than 37,000 or between 26 per cent. and 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements. Other urban: Fewer than 37,000 or less than 26 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements; Large urban: A minimum of 50,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a large urban area; Major urban: A minimum of 100,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a major urban area (i.e. over 750,000 of the population). (2) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) changed in April 2009 and one rural classification has changed from rural 75 to rural 80 | |||||||
Offenders: Mental Health
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the number of offenders subject to a custodial sentence who have previously been given a conditional discharge; and what proportion of those offenders have been diagnosed with mental health problems. [293552]
Claire Ward: Out of 94,600 sentences of immediate custody in England and Wales in 2007, in the latest year for which figure are available, 52,200 offenders (55 per cent.) had on at least one previous sentencing occasion received a conditional discharge. Information about the mental health of these offenders is not available.
These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
The figures represent a further breakdown of the criminal history statistics published in chapter 6 of "Sentencing Statistics 2007" which can be found at:
Prisoners: Location
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in prisons more than 50 miles from normal place of residence at the latest date for which figures are available. [294177]
Maria Eagle: As of 8 May 2009, there were 32,126 prisoners held in prisons more than 50 miles from their home area.
This figure includes male and female prisoners, those sentenced and on remand and adults, young offenders and juveniles.
All prisoners are asked for details of their home address on first reception to prison and on discharge from prison. Approximately 60 per cent. of prisoners are shown to have given a recognised address.
If no address is given, various proxies are used to determine distance from home, including next-of-kin address and committal court address.
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