## Legal Aid Statistics In England And Wales Legal Aid Agency Apr To Jun 2014 Ministry Of Justice Statistics Bulletin

Published 25 September 2014 

## Contents

| Executive summary                                         |   3 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----|
|                                                           |     |
| Introduction                                              |   5 |
|                                                           |     |
| Geographic coverage of the report                         |   7 |
|                                                           |     |
| Analysis and commentary                                   |   8 |
|                                                           |     |
| Summary                                                   |   8 |
|                                                           |     |
| Criminal Legal Aid                                        |  10 |
|                                                           |     |
| Crime higher                                              |  11 |
|                                                           |     |
| Crime lower                                               |  15 |
|                                                           |     |
| Civil legal aid                                           |  20 |
|                                                           |     |
| Family                                                    |  22 |
|                                                           |     |
| Non-family - social welfare law (SWL)                     |  25 |
|                                                           |     |
| Non-family - low volume (LV)                              |  25 |
|                                                           |     |
| Tribunals                                                 |  26 |
|                                                           |     |
| Exceptional Case Funding: applications and determinations |  28 |
|                                                           |     |
| Applications                                              |  28 |
|                                                           |     |
| Determinations                                            |  29 |
|                                                           |     |
| Annual updates                                            |  31 |
|                                                           |     |
| Appealing decisions                                       |  31 |
|                                                           |     |
| Provider Information                                      |  31 |
|                                                           |     |
| Clients of Legal Aid                                      |  31 |
|                                                           |     |
| Timeliness                                                |  31 |
|                                                           |     |
| Data Sources and Data Quality                             |  32 |
|                                                           |     |
| Guidance on tables and supplementary information.         |  35 |
|                                                           |     |
| Annex A - Glossary of key terms                           |  57 |
|                                                           |     |
| Annex B - Explanatory notes                               |  63 |
|                                                           |     |
| Annex C - Contact points for further information          |  64 |
|                                                           |     |
|                                                           |     |

## Executive Summary Quarterly Statistics On The Legal Aid System

1. 
This is the first quarterly edition of the Legal Aid Statistics, which has previously been published only 
annually. This increase in frequency provides users with more up to date statistics on activity in this rapidly-changing part of the justice system, and increases the transparency of the Legal Aid Agency.  
2. 
Feedback from users on the format and content of the Legal Aid Statistics are encouraged, and can 
be submitted via the contact details shown in Annex C at the very end of this bulletin. 

## New To This Edition

3. 
All previous editions have been published alongside the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts, 
enabling them to report expenditure on an accruals accounting basis (meaning that they report the 
value of the work done in the period), aligned with the accounts for the full financial year. This is not possible with a quarterly publication.  
4. 
Therefore this bulletin instead presents expenditure in terms of the total value of payments made to 
legal aid providers in relation to the cases that are completed in the period. This should not be confused with expenditure as shown in the Annual Report and Accounts. There are important differences between these two measures of value which mean that they are not directly comparable 
and the figures shown for April to June 2014 in this bulletin are not indicative of the Agency's expenditure in 2014-15. 
5. 
In addition to the difference in the timing of reporting, the figures in this bulletin do not take account 
of income received in the period (the Agency's income in 2013-14 was £210m out of total net expenditure of £1,709m).  
6. 
Previous, annual editions of Legal Aid Statistics have included an overall measure of workload 
volume known as Acts of Assistance. The purpose of this measure is to capture volumes across the whole system within a single number. However, this number must be interpreted with caution because it is a composite measure which includes a combination of units from the diverse range of cases and schemes that make up the legal aid system. For example, it does not differentiate between a relatively quick, low-cost act of assistance such as the provision of pre-charge advice in a police station and a complex, relatively high-cost court case. 
7. 
Additionally the basis on which the volumes have been measured has varied between different types 
of legal aid due to the data available: crime lower volumes have been based on claim volumes, which relate to the end of activity on a case, whereas for other legal aid areas volumes have been based on case starts, the start of activity on a case.  Due to the duration of legal aid cases, timing differences will affect volumes depending on whether starts or claims are counted.  
8. 
At a time when the mix of cases and activities is changing, this measure may not provide the best 
indication of trends in workload across the legal aid system. For this reason, Acts of Assistance is not included in this edition and readers are instead encouraged to refer to the figures on volume within each distinct area of legal aid. 
 

## Criminal Legal Aid

9. 
Workload in the wider Criminal Justice System (CJS) has fallen recently and as a consequence work 
further down the system, including criminal legal aid, has also seen a fall.  
10. The number of claims for legal aid in the crime higher category has been gradually falling since a 
peak in Jan-Mar 2012, in the last quarter there was a four per cent fall compared to the same period the previous year.  There has been a similar trend in the value of completed cases. 
11. The largest area within crime higher is in representation at the Crown Court.  Overall this category 
has remained stable, but this is because rises in representation orders granted for either way offences have been offset by falls in all other areas. 
12. A recent decline in workload in the crime lower category has stabilised over the last 18 months, but 
workload in April to June 2014 was five per cent down compared to the previous year. 

## Civil Legal Aid

13. The implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) in April 
2013 resulted in large reductions in legal help workload and expenditure.  However, since this initial fall trends have begun to stabilise. In the last quarter there was a two per cent increase in workload compared to the same period in 2013.  
14. In civil representation the reductions following the implementation of LASPO have been more 
gradual.  Numbers of certificates granted for civil representation have stabilised over the last few quarters. 
15. In April to June, volumes in family were down by 27 per cent, while social welfare law increased by 
four per cent and there was no change in tribunals when compared to the same period of the previous year.    

## Introduction

This report presents the key statistics on activity in the legal aid system for England and Wales. It provides information for the latest three months (April to June 2014) with accompanying commentary, analysis and presentation of longer term trends. The data provides users with information about legal advice, legal representation and eventual outcomes in England and Wales. The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to government policy makers in the development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation, and to providers and recipients of legal aid. Others will be interested in the way different categories of law are dealt with and the use of legal aid within the system.  
Further information on the terminology used within the bulletin can be found in 'Annex A - Glossary of key terms' Guidance on the symbols and conventions used in the bulletin is provided in 'Annex B - Explanatory notes'. If you have any feedback, questions or requests for further information about this statistical bulletin, please direct them to the appropriate contact given at the end of this report 'Annex C - Contact points for further information'. 

## Creation Of The Legal Aid Agency

Until April 2013 the Legal Services Commission (LSC) was a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with statutory duties in relation to the Community Legal Service Fund (CLSF) and Criminal Defence Service (CDS), funding legal advice and representation in civil and criminal law. On 1 April 2013 the LSC was abolished as a result of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. An executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was created to administer legal aid from 1 April 2013, called the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). 

The legal aid system dates from 1949. The scheme was administered by the Law Society, the professional body which regulates and represents solicitors, until the Legal Aid Act 1988, which established the Legal Aid Board. Following the doubling of the legal aid budget in the early 1990's a review of the system was carried out in 1997, leading to the Access to Justice Act 1999 and the LSC. The latest review recommended that the LSC align more closely with the MoJ and therefore the LSC as a NDPB was abolished and the LAA, an executive agency was created as a result of the LASPO Act 2012. 

## Laspo Act 2012

As well as creating the LAA, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act also made changes to the scope and eligibility of legal aid and to exceptional case funding.  These changes came into effect from 1 April 2013 and so will be reflected in this report. The full details of the LASPO Act can be found here: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/enacted Workload For many areas of civil law, the implementation of the LASPO Act led to a reduction of workload.  Areas affected include:  

- 
Family - legal aid is now only available for private family law cases (such as contact or divorce) if 
there is evidence of domestic violence or child abuse and child abduction cases. Legal aid remains available for public family law cases (such as adoption). . 
- 
Social Welfare - legal aid has been removed (with some exceptions) for debt, employment, 
housing and welfare benefits. 
- 
Low Volume - legal aid has been removed (with some exceptions) or reduced for clinical 
negligence, education and personal injury. 
 
- 
Tribunals - legal aid has been reduced for immigration work. 
Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) 
If a case falls outside the scope of legal aid, funding may still be provided if the case is deemed 
'exceptional'.  A case will be deemed as such if failure to provide legal aid would be, or would result in, a breach of the individual's rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.  There is a section in this report on ECF applications and determination. Telephone Gateway The LASPO Act has created a mandatory gateway through the 'Community Legal Advice' helpline for those seeking legal advice in relation to debt, special education needs and discrimination claims relating to a breach of the Equality Act 2010. This means that the only way clients can obtain legal aid for these types of cases is by calling the helpline. Gateway call operators and specialist advisers will assess the specific needs of callers on a case by case basis and may refer them to a face to face advice service if they consider it necessary. Legal Aid Transformation The LASPO Act also required the LAA to implement a number of changes to the way legal aid is administered, through the Legal Aid Reform programme. The Legal Aid Transformation programme has since been put in place to examine the possibilities of further legal aid savings, including the concept of tendering to be a criminal legal aid provider. As a result the following reforms were effective from 2 December 2013: 

‐ 
Reform of fees in criminal Very High Cost Cases (VHCCs).  On 7th July 2014 temporary 
arrangements were put in place, under which self-employed barristers were instructed to represent defendants in a number of VHCCs.  For more information: www.justice.gov.uk/legalaid/newslatest-updates/crime-news/joint-statement-by-the-bar-council,-the-criminal-barassociation,-the-circuit-leaders-and-the-ministry-of-justice-on-vhcc-advocacy 
  
‐ 
Changes to the scope of prison law for legal aid 
‐ 
Changes to the rules for use of multiple advocates for criminal legal aid  
‐ 
Changes to experts' fees for both civil and criminal law  
‐ 
Removal of the uplift for permission and appeal work for immigration and asylum law 
‐ 
Harmonising Barrister fees - for civil (non-family) law 
 The following reforms were effective from 27 January 2014: 

‐ 
Changes to the Crown Court means test for criminal legal aid  
‐ 
Removing legal aid for cases judged to have borderline prospects of success  
 The following reform was effective from 20 March 2014: Interim Fee Cut for criminal legal aid work of 8.75 per cent (excluding VHCCs) The following reforms are effective from 22 April 2014: 

 
‐ 
Changes to the Remuneration of Judicial Review cases  
‐ 
Changes to remuneration schemes to reflect the introduction of a Family Court  
‐ 
Reduction of the fixed fee paid to providers in Family Cases covered by the Care Proceedings 
Graduated Fee Scheme (and the underlying hourly rates) by 10%  
‐ 
Amendments to private family law children and finance evidence requirements 
‐ 
A new legal requirement for applicants to attend a mediation information and assessment meeting 

## The Full Effect Of All These Changes Will Not Be Seen In This Report As Reforms Were Implemented Part Way Through The Period. Geographic Coverage Of The Report

The LAA administers the legal aid system for England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legal aid systems, administered by the Scottish Legal Aid Board and Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission respectively.  

## Analysis And Commentary

This analysis presents the information collected on legal aid administered by the LAA and covers the two areas of work, crime and civil.   

## Summary

Legal aid workload can be broken down into two main justice areas, crime and civil: 

Legal aid 

## Civil Legal Aid

Criminal legal aid 

 
- This includes work that relates to the 
rights and relations of private citizensfor example, disputes relating to unpaid debts and family matters. 
- This includes work carried out in police 
stations and in courts in relation to people accused of or charged with criminal offences. 
- A network of organisations fund, 
provide and promote civil legal advice and representation.  
 
- Provides legal advice and 
representation to people being investigated or charged with a criminal offence. 
 

- Split into legal help and civil 
representation. 

- Split into crime higher and crime lower. 

 
o Crime higher is legal 
representation in the Crown Court and above. 

 

o Legal help includes advice and 
assistance about a legal problem, but does not include representation or advocacy in 
proceedings.  

 

o Civil representation is 
representation by solicitors and barristers for civil cases, which could go to court 
o Crime Lower is work carried out 
by legal aid providers at police 
stations and in magistrates' courts in relation to people accused of or charged with criminal offences. Prison law is also included within this category. 


## Financial Information Presented In This Bulletin

This bulletin presents expenditure in terms of the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to the cases that are completed in the period. This should not be confused with expenditure as shown in the Annual Report and Accounts. There are important differences between these two measures of value which mean that they are not directly comparable and the figures shown for April to June 2014 in this bulletin are not indicative of the Agency's expenditure in 2014-15. In addition to the difference in the timing of reporting, the figures in this bulletin do not take account of income received in the period (the Agency's income in 2013-14 was £210m out of total net expenditure of £1,709m). 

 
The value of cases completed between April and June 2014 was just under £419 million1, this is an 11 
per cent reduction on the same period in 2013.   The split in payments is fairly even between criminal legal aid (47%) and civil legal aid (53%).  However, civil representation makes up 46% of the value of payments made for cases completed in this period (see figure 1). Note: Data on the value of completed cases are provisional and subject to change 
 
1 Data on the value of completed cases are provisional and subject to change. 

## Criminal Legal Aid

The diagram below shows the availability of legal aid flows (in bold) throughout the Criminal Justice System (CJS) with legal services touching on the system from start to finish. 

 All criminal cases are potentially within the scope of the criminal legal aid scheme, subject to the Interests of Justice test and the means test operating to exclude some cases. Figures given in this report reflect each of the areas above with information from the pre-charge stage, the early court system and prison assistance found in the crime lower section and the more serious Crown Court, Higher Courts and high cost case information provided in the crime higher section. 

Workload in the wider Criminal Justice System (CJS) has fallen in the last few years and as a consequence work further down the system, including criminal legal aid, has also seen a fall. The largest volume reductions in overall workload within criminal legal aid have been in been in pre-charge work, which has seen a fall of 22,000 cases (11 per cent) in April to June 2014 compared to the same period in 2011 and the magistrates' court area with a drop of 16,000 cases (14 per cent) in April to June 2014 compared to the same period in 2011. 

 
Note: figures have been rounded so may not sum to totals 

## Crime Higher

The last few years have seen a gradual decline in volume in the crime higher category (see figure 3). These have been driven by a fall in the volume of representations in the Crown Court.  The value of payments for completed cases in crime higher has also decreased over the last three years, with falls in all categories (figure 4). 

Note: Some payments relating to the first part of 2011-12 were processed in a previous, separate payment system from which it is not currently possible to determine the precise timing of case completion, and these payments have therefore been excluded. 



Note: Some payments relating to the first part of 2011-12 were processed in a previous, separate payment system from which it is not currently possible to determine the precise timing of case completion, and these payments have therefore been excluded.  Data on the value of completed cases are provisional and subject to change  

## Representations At Crown Court

The workload in the Crown Court can be broadly split into the following categories: 
Either way offence: An offence which can be tried either before the magistrates' court or the Crown Court.  
Indictable offence: A criminal offence that can only be tried in the Crown Court. Committed for sentence: A case where a magistrate decides that the penalties available to them are inadequate and commits the case to the crown court for sentencing. 

Appeals: The Crown Court deals with appeals from magistrates' court against conviction and 
sentence 
The trend in publicly funded representations in the Crown Court is broadly similar to the trend in Crown Court disposals2 (see figure 5). The number of representation orders granted between April and June 
2014 has remained relatively stable compared to the same period in 2013. There was a 12 per cent increase in the number of orders granted for either way offences, however this was offset by decreases in all other areas (see figure 6). 

www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-statistics-quarterly 

## Very High Cost Cases (Vhccs)

VHCCs are those cases in which, if the case were to proceed to trial, it would be likely to last more than 60 days.  These cases can span a number of years and while the volumes are relatively small the number of related contracts with providers and the amount spent are high in comparison.  The LAA 
makes decisions in relation to authority to incur expenditure for expert reports and runs a High Cost Case contracting scheme seeking to limit expenditure on the small number of Crown Court cases that account for a large proportion of total expenditure on criminal legal aid. Total expenditure on VHCCs between April and June 2014 was £9 million, a reduction of 48 per cent compared to the previous year. Falling VHCC costs are due to changes in rates paid and also a reduction in the proportion of cases classified as a VHCC due to the threshold being increased from 40 to 60 days on 1 April 2013. VHCCs represent less than one per cent of the volume but eight per cent of the overall cost of publicly funded cases in the Crown Court. For each VHCC opened there may be multiple defendants, each represented by a different provider, with separate VHCC contracts. Figure 7 below shows the number of VHCCs opened since April 2011, together with the number of individual contracts signed, contracts closed and the total expenditure. 

Financial year
Quarter
High Cost Crime 
cases opened
High Cost Crime 
contracts opened
High Cost Crime 
contracts closed
High Cost Crime 
expenditure 
(£m)
20 23
2011-12
Apr-Jun
4
55
75
Jul-Sep
14
65
62
21
Oct-Dec
9
79
103
28
Jan-Mar
1
28
54
20 16 16
16
2012-13
Apr-Jun
1
22
81
Jul-Sep
6
32
61
Oct-Dec
5
27
41
Jan-Mar
8
31
39
18 15 13
2013-14
Apr-Jun
5
17
57
Jul-Sep
4
24
37
Oct-Dec
3
24
69
Jan-Mar
0
8
52
11
9
2014-15
Apr-Jun
0
5
26

 
Note: Data on expenditure are provisional and subject to change 

## The Higher Courts: Court Of Appeal And Supreme Court

Legally aided cases within the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are counted within crime higher. However these figures are not currently available on a quarterly basis.  The latest published figures are annual and can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-
2014 

## Crime Lower

There has been a steady decline in the crime lower workload in recent years, although this has stabilised in the last 18 months (see figure 8).  The value of completed cases in crime lower has gradually decreased over the last three years, with a nine per cent fall this quarter compared to the same period in 2013 (see figure 9). 

Note: Data on the value of completed cases are provisional and subject to change  

## Pre-Charge Suspects

Pre-charge work made up over 60 per cent of the crime lower workload between April and June 2014.  
Anyone in England and Wales who is interviewed by the police or attends a police station can receive advice funded by legal aid either on the telephone or by a solicitor in attendance with the suspect.  The LAA has limited control over the volume of police station claims. Changes to police numbers and priorities will lead to changes in the number of arrests, charges and cautions. The overall workload between April and June 2014 fell by 2 per cent compared to the previous year.  
Over the last three years the trend has been gradually decreasing (see figure 10). The trend in police recorded crime figures has also been reducing, but the falls in recorded crime have been larger than for legal aid pre-charge work3. 

The majority of the pre-charge workload (84% in April to June 2014) consists of suspects receiving legal help with a solicitor in attendance at the police station; this has remained stable over the last year. There has been a steady decline in telephone advice given with figures in April to June 2014 nearly 30 per cent lower than the same quarter in 2011.   

## Magistrates' Court

The overall workload in magistrates' courts where a representation order for legal aid is required fell by six per cent this quarter when compared to the previous year.  This is consistent with the trend in the magistrates' court workload which has fallen by 14 per cent in April to June 2014 compared to the same period in 2011.  This is driven by the fall in those cases where a representation order is required as these cases account for more than 80 per cent of the magistrates' court workload. Figure 11 shows the number of disposals in the magistrates' court and the number of representation orders granted in the period. 

 

## Prison Law

In Prison law workload has been decreasing over the last three years (see figure 12).  However, the last two quarters have seen larger falls.  In particular, there has been a 36 per cent fall in April to June 2014 compared to the same period the previous year.    From December 2013, under the Legal Aid Reform programme, there were changes to the scope of legal aid available for prison law4, these changes appear to have led to larger falls. 

Over 60 per cent of prison law cases between April and June 2014 were for free standing advice and assistance. The Parole Board considered 1,200 (19 per cent of prison law cases in April to June 2014) 
cases at a legal aid funded oral hearings and finally the LAA also funded over 1,000(17 per cent of prison law cases in April to June 2014) disciplinary hearing claims, which were heard by Independent Adjudicators (IAs).  
 

## Civil Legal Aid

Many events and issues in people's lives require legal assistance, these can be simple phone calls to a not for profit advice centre or a long drawn out divorce with attempted mediation and further court appearances. Legal help is usually the first point of civil legal advice and covers help via telephone, face-to-face and not for profit centres. Many of these will then extend into civil representation with full investigations undertaken or in court representation given although it is possible to enter straight into civil representation. 

## Civil Legal Aid Is Made Up Of Legal Help And Civil Representation.  The Way That A Case Is Counted For Each Of These Areas Is Different. Legal Help- Matters Started For Face To Face Advice And For The Telephone Advice Service Civil Representation- Representation Orders Granted

A wide range of categories of civil law are covered within the legal aid provisions although the availability of legal help has changed over time to reflect the changing nature of the civil system. These wide ranging categories, including debt, immigration and divorce, and the type of work contained within each are given in Annex A. The implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) in April 
2013 resulted in large reductions in legal help workloads.  However, trends have begun to stabilise more recently, and in the last quarter there was a two percent increase compared to the same period in 2013 (see table 5.1). In civil representation the reductions following the implementation of LASPO were more gradual. However, the number of certificates granted for civil representation also seem to be stabilising now. Figure 13 shows the number of certificates granted for civil representation and the number of hearings and trials from court data.  The trends were broadly similar until the implementation of LASPO, when there were large reductions in civil representation workload.  However, in the last few quarters, as civil representation workload has stabilised, there are signs that the trends are becoming similar again. 

Notes: Figures have been rounded so may not sum to totals.  Figures are taken from legal help matters started (solicitors, nfps and specialist telephone advice service only) and civil representation certificates granted. The figure for family mediation is not included within the Family (private) total.  Figures exclude housing possession court duty scheme and telephone operator service. 

## Family

The category of family legal aid covers work on both private and public law and includes work associated with the Children Act, domestic abuse, financial provision and family mediation. Figures for each category are not available for legal help matters. 

In legal help there was a large decrease in family cases following the implementation of the LASPO Act.  
However, this seems to be stabilising now.  For civil representation there was a more gradual decrease following the implementation of LASPO, but these figures also appear to be stabilising now (figure 15).  
Despite large falls in other areas of the family workload, workload in family public law has remained stable.  Family public cases are primarily driven by the issuing of proceedings by individual Local Authorities. These cases are non-means and merits tested, and the LAA has no control over the volume of these cases. 

Note: workload has been calculated by adding legal help matters started and civil representation certificated granted. 

## Family Mediation

The process of settling outside of the court system using alternative dispute resolution is cheaper and quicker than using the courts but it also allows for a more flexible approach. Increasingly the courts have introduced a mediation stage in proceedings to encourage parties to settle rather than litigate their dispute to the end. Family mediation allows a neutral mediator help the parties to reach a mutually acceptable compromise while conciliation gives the mediator the power to suggest grounds for compromise. Arbitration is the voluntary submission by the parties of their dispute to the judgment of a neutral arbitrator. Agreement is normally contained in writing in a contract. The main advantages are seen as expertise, speed and flexibility and the fact that arbitrations are private. 

## Assessments

The use of mediation has fallen since the implementation of LASPO in April 2013.  On the 22 April 2014 changes from the Children and Families Act came into effect. The Act made it a requirement for separating couples to attend a meeting to find out about mediation before the dispute can be taken to court (unless exemptions apply - such as in cases of domestic violence).  There has been an increase in the number of mediation assessments in April to June 2014, compared to the previous quarter, but this has yet to filter through to starts and agreements.  

## Non-Family - Social Welfare Law (Swl)

The social welfare law categories include community care, debt, housing and welfare benefits.  This area was impacted by the LASPO Act changes and this is reflected in the statistics for the last year. There were large falls in social welfare volumes following the implementation of LASPO, however, the figures have stabilised in recent quarters and there was a four per cent increase in the latest quarter compared with the previous year.   
In this quarter housing was the largest volume area, making up 91 per cent of social welfare, with community care making up a further five per cent. 

Note: workload has been calculated by adding legal help matters started and civil representation certificated granted. 

## Non-Family - Low Volume (Lv)

This category differs from other civil and family categories as need is thinly distributed within the population, and demand is greatly influenced by the location and advice provided by low volume providers. They cover actions against the police, clinical negligence, consumer and general contract, 
 
education, personal injury, civil liberties (public law) and other meritorious cases.  Individually, workload on the low volume categories is so low that it is difficult to see specific trends.  

Apr-Jun 
2013
Jul-Sep 
2013
Oct-Dec 
2013
Jan-Mar 
2014
Apr-Jun 
2014
Low Volume
3,384
2,730
2,247
2,465
2,747
Actions against the police etc.
875
715
641
746
729
Clinical negligence
591
202
166
186
188
Consumer
42
10
2
0
0
Discrimination
735
671
430
469
409
Education
382
305
243
266
477
Personal injury
2
3
0
0
0
Public law
640
734
691
601
613
Miscellaneous
117
90
74
197
331  

Note: workload has been calculated by adding legal help matters started and civil representation certificated granted. The changes to scope in the LASPO Act and previous changes have meant that the volume of personal injury workload has reduced. Other areas affected by the LASPO Act and showing large falls are clinical negligence and education (see table 5.1). In April to June 2014 there have been large falls in clinical negligence and discrimination compared to the same quarter in 2013 (see figure18).  

## Tribunals

Legal aid in these categories (mental health and immigration & asylum) covers representation at a tribunal. 

## Mental Health

Within mental health the majority of funding is applied in providing assistance to sectioned clients appealing the terms of their detention before a mental health tribunal. There is a statutory duty to provide advice and representation in these cases, and they are funded without reference to a client's means. The number of providers carrying out this work is small compared with other categories. Providers have to travel to discrete NHS and private hospital locations to advise high priority detained clients. Over the last three years there has been a gradual increase in the volume of legally aided mental health tribunals.  However, in recent quarters, this has stabilised. (see figure 19). 

## Immigration

Under the changes made in the LASPO Act, some immigration cases are no longer in scope for legal aid. However, after the initial falls following implementation in April 2013, figures have now stabilised. 

Note: workload has been calculated by adding legal help matters started and civil representation certificated granted. 

## Exceptional Case Funding: Applications And Determinations

Clause 10 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced the practice of applying for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) from 1 April 2013. An ECF application for civil legal services is made where a case falls outside the scope of legal aid but the client or conducting solicitor believes there is evidence to support there being a requirement to provide funding because failure to do so would be a breach of, or having regard to any risk that failure to do so would be such a breach of, their Convention rights (within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 
1998), or any rights of the individual to the provision of legal services that are enforceable EU rights.  
An ECF determination can only be granted if: 

 
the above exceptional case criteria are met, and  
 
the relevant criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid  (Merits Criteria) Regulations are met, and  
 
the relevant criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations are met 
Part 8 of the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 informs that there are particular exceptions that apply to the procedures of ECF.  There is no appeal provision; only a right to an internal review, there is no emergency provision, or delegated functions.  There is however a provision that allows an ECF determination to take effect from a date earlier than the actual date of the determination. Unlike other legal aid applications, Clients can make ECF applications directly to the Legal Aid Agency 
(LAA).  If the ECF application sent directly by the Client is likely to be granted their application is given a Positive Preliminary View, subject to a full ECF Application being submitted in conjunction with a legal aid provider. The Director of Legal Aid Casework determines which individual qualifies for services in accordance with the Act.  To ensure that decisions are made independently and in accordance with the relevant legal aid legislation, the Director has put in place a robust organisational structure within the LAA. The LAA ECF Team was set up to assess ECF applications made under Clause 10 of LASPO from 1 April 2013.   

## Applications

There were 270 applications for ECF between April 2014 and June 2014; this was a similar number of applications to the same period the previous year, but a reduction of 99 (27%) from the previous three month period. The majority of ECF applications were new (77%).  The average turnaround time for assessing new ECF applications during April 2014 to June 2014 was nine working days.  There were 61 applications for review; for these the average turnaround time was seven working days (see figure 20). 

Note: the turnaround time mean averages given above exclude cases currently awaiting assessment. The turnaround time for each ECF application starts on the date it is received by the LAA ECF Team and finishes when the case has been dealt with. Of the total ECF applications, family, inquest and immigration were the most requested categories of law. There were 125 applications in the family category, 67 applications in the inquest category, and 44 applications in the immigration category and (see figure 21) 
12 ECF applications (4%) were made directly by the client, without solicitors formally submitting applications on their behalf.  ECF applications are the only legal aid applications that can be submitted directly by a client.  The remaining 258 applications (96%) were made by Legal Aid providers.  

## Determinations

265 of the 270 ECF applications received between April and June 2014 were determined by the LAA with a further 5 awaiting assessment as at 31 August 2014.  37 (14%) of determinations were granted and 180 (68%) were refused, with the remained rejected or withdrawn (see figure 22).  The majority of applications granted were for inquest category cases (see figure 23).  The number and proportion of ECF 
applications being granted has increased every quarter since April 2013.   

Applications 
Received    
270
Determinations 
265(98%)
Awaiting 
assessment         
5(2%)
Granted 
37(14%*)
Refused 
180(68%*)
Rejected 
45(17%*)
Withdrawn 
3(1%*)

*as a percentage of determinations 

Area of Law
Positive 
Preliminary 
View Awaiting Granted
Refused
Rejected
Withdrawn
Total
Family
0
0
7
95
20
3
125
Inquest
0
1
23
33
10
0
67
Immigration
0
3
7
28
6
0
44
Other
0
0
0
18
9
0
27
Welfare Benefits
0
0
0
3
0
0
3
Housing/Land Law
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
Inquiry/Tribunal
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
PI/Clinical Negligence
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
Total
0
5
37
180
45
3
270  

## Annual Updates

Statistics on the following topics are updated on an annual basis, in the Legal Aid Statistics bulletin published following the final (January to March) quarter of the financial year. 

## Appealing Decisions

This section of the report is updated annually as only partial data is available on a quarterly basis.  The most recent annual publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aidstatistics-april-2013-to-march-2014 

## Provider Information

This section of the report is updated annually.  The most recent annual publication can be found here: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014.   
Provider figures for 2013-14 in the last annual publication were incorrect at the time of publication and have since been revised.  

## Clients Of Legal Aid

This section of the report is updated annually.  The most recent annual publication can be found here: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014.   

## Timeliness

This section of the report is updated annually.  The most recent annual publication can be found here: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014.   

 

## Data Sources And Data Quality

This section outlines the different data sources used to compile the statistics presented in the bulletin with discussion on data quality where relevant. The main sources of the statistics are compiled from administrative systems designed for the accurate management of the legal aid system. There are many administrative systems used to create the statistics covering each of the main areas of legal aid: 

 
Within **crime higher** figures are drawn from two systems: 
‐ 
Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme ( LGFS) called Crown Court Legal Fees (CCLF)  
‐ 
Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) called Crown Court Remuneration (CCR)  
They provide the value of completed cases and volume of cases information for much of the Crime Higher data. This is supported with information from the Means Assessment Admin Tool (MAAT) giving information on the granting of legal aid. High cost case information is drawn from the Complex Crime Unit (CCU) and their administrative system. 

 
For **crime lower** data is taken from the Contracted Work and Administration system and 
supported with information from the Means Assessment Admin Tool (MAAT) giving information on 
the granting of legal aid. 
 
For **civil representation** the figures are obtained from the Corporate Information Store (CIS), 
Client and case management system (CCMS) and their associated supporting systems. 
 
For **legal help**, information is provided by the CWA system and its management information and 
the telephone advice service starts, receipts and determinations. 
 
For **Exceptional Case Funding** (ECF) information is drawn from the ECF team's live 
administrative database.  
While the majority of information is held within source administrative systems some information is provided from other non-database sources including data on telephone advice, community legal advice centres and the housing court duty solicitor scheme. As with any large administrative data source, users should bear in mind that data on legal aid may be subject to errors due to incorrect data entry or inconsistent recording practices. 

## Revisions

In accordance with Principle 2 of the Code of Practice for Office Statistics, the MoJ is required to publish transparent guidance on its policy for revisions. A copy of this statement can be found at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/mojstats/statistics-revisions-policy.pdf  
The three reasons specified for statistics needing to be revised are changes in sources of administrative systems or methodology changes, receipt of subsequent information, and errors in statistical systems and processes. Each of these points, and its specific relevance to the legal aid statistics publication, are addressed below: 

## Changes In Source Of Administrative Systems Or Methodology Changes

The data within this publication come from a variety of administrative systems. The document will present where there have been revisions to data accountable to switches in methodology or administrative systems with statistics affected within the publication appropriately footnoted. 

## Receipt Of Subsequent Information

The nature of any administrative system is that data may be received late. For the purposes of these legal aid statistics, the late data will be reviewed on a quarterly basis and revisions will be made each quarter.  

## Errors In Statistical Systems And Processes

Occasionally errors can occur in statistical processes; procedures are constantly reviewed to minimise this risk. Should a significant error be found the publication on the website will be updated and an errata slip published documenting the revision. 

## Tables Summary

Table 1.1 
Legal aid criminal workload summary since 2001-02 
Table 1.2 
Legal aid civil workload summary since 2001-02 

## Criminal Legal Aid

Table 2.1 
Crime lower workload (count) 
Table 2.2 
Crime lower workload (value) 
Table 3.1 
Magistrates' courts: legal aid applications and grants 
Table 3.2 
Crown Court: legal aid applications and grants 
Table 4.1 
Crime higher workload 
Table 4.2 
Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS) 
Table 4.3 
Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) 
Table 4.5 
High Cost Crime cases 

## Civil Legal Aid

Table 5.1 
Legal help matters started (count) 
Table 5.2 
Legal help matters completed - Solicitors and NfP only (count) 
Table 6.1 
Civil representation, applications received 
Table 6.2 
Civil representation, certificates granted 
Table 6.3 
Civil representation, certificates completed 
Table 6.4 
Civil representation costs met by LAA 
Table 6.5 
Civil representation costs met by opponent 
Table 7.1 
Mediation assessment 
Table 7.2 
Mediations 
Table 8.1 
Exceptional Case Funding 
 

## Guidance On Tables And Supplementary Information.

In addition to the supplementary excel tables, and in line with the MoJ commitment to provide information in a reusable format there are accompanying csv files published containing historical data for further manipulation by users. All these workbooks and CSV files can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics 

## Symbols And Conventions

The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin: 
0 = Nil - = Not applicable .. = Not available Data before 2010-11 have not been updated from previous versions of this report.  Data for 2011-12 and 2012-13 have been updated and may be different to previous publications as data are taken from a live database. 

Volume of criminal work in legal aid 2001-02 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Apr-Jun 2011 to Jan-Mar 2014

Crime lower
Crime higher
Representation 
at Crown Court 
Litigator 
Graduated Fee 
Scheme1
Representation 
at Crown Court 
Court of 
Appeal and 
Supreme 
Court
Crime higher 
total
2001-02
1,685,094
..
..
..
 .. 
2002-03
1,549,626
..
..
..
 .. 
2003-04
1,579,751
..
..
..
 .. 
2004-05
1,505,674
..
..
..
 .. 
2005-06
1,528,383
..
..
..
 .. 
2006-07
1,462,987
..
..
56
 .. 
2007-08
1,381,424
..
..
54
 .. 
2008-09
1,521,547
..
..
63
 .. 
2009-10
1,501,142
126,143
..
55
 .. 
2010-11
1,429,069
130,459
..
33
 .. 
2011-12
1,331,200
132,570
114,020
28
5,778
        138,376 
2012-13
1,233,065
123,120
120,042
20
5,643
        128,783 
2013-14
1,203,341
111,927
118,344
12 
4,906
        116,845 
Very high 
cost cases
Advocate 
Graduated Fee 
Scheme1,2
Financial Year Quarter
2011-12
Apr-Jun
330,779
25,621
13,499
4 
..
 .. 
Jul-Sep
348,429
41,872
28,075
14
..
 .. 
Oct-Dec
323,979
27,202
34,377
9
..
 .. 
Jan-Mar
328,013
37,875
38,069
1
..
..
2012-13
Apr-Jun
307,431
32,480
31,005
1
..
 .. 
Jul-Sep
319,543
29,737
30,065
6
..
 .. 
Oct-Dec
299,928
31,993
29,898
5
..
 .. 
Jan-Mar
306,163
28,910
29,074
8
..
..
2013-14
Apr-Jun
302,467
27,822
29,051
5
..
 .. 
Jul-Sep
306,481
28,616
29,575
4
..
 .. 
Oct-Dec
295,500
28,889
29,745
3
..
 .. 
Jan-Mar
298,893
26,600
29,973
0
..
..
2014-15
Apr-Jun
287,809
27,557
26,890
0
..
..

1 Figures before the higher crime schemes transferred to the Legal Aid Agency are not available
2 The figures for AGFS for 2011-12 are only partial due to the phased rollout of payments made by LAA
 

Volume of civil work in legal aid 2001-02 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014
Legal help1
Civil representation
Housing 
Possession 
court duty 
scheme
Community 
legal 
advice 
centre
Financial Year Quarter
New 
matters 
started2
Telephone 
Operator 
Service
Completed 
matters
Applications 
received
Certificates 
granted
Certificates 
closed3
2001-02
764,697
748,890
-
-
-
..
..
..
2002-03
811,848
798,033
..
-
-
..
..
..
2003-04
709,769
756,569
..
-
-
..
..
..
2004-05
654,267
715,837
..
..
..
..
..
..
2005-06
783,455
786,522
..
..
..
..
..
..
2006-07
851,023
876,071
..
..
..
191,444
       
157,719
     
..
2007-08
807,459
735,436
..
..
..
173,190
       
144,865
     
..
2008-09
886,862
756,446
33,842
235,947
6,950
183,438
       
152,657
     
153,303
       
2009-10
933,816
906,073
31,831
290,574
9,538
203,329
       
168,403
     
137,684
       
2010-11
785,396
813,043
29,625
264,339
18,515
187,591
       
153,603
     
129,553
       
2011-12
679,711
674,539
33,752
200,737
25,588
176,375
       
148,279
     
138,131
       
2012-13
573,632
602,133
33,575
154,945
18,816
191,124
       
150,472
     
137,288
       
2013-14
172,846
319,819
46,160
161,915
-
117,434
       
108,100
     
147,704
       
2011-12 
Apr-Jun
171,392
174,774
..
..
..
42,787
        
34,868
       
31,257
        
Jul-Sep
177,135
166,396
..
..
..
45,623
        
37,576
       
36,844
        
Oct-Dec
155,334
161,336
..
..
..
43,403
        
37,528
       
34,181
        
Jan-Mar
175,850
172,033
..
..
..
44,562
        
38,307
       
35,849
        
2012-13
Apr-Jun
154,291
156,220
..
..
..
43,543
        
36,139
       
34,498
        
Jul-Sep
153,800
154,587
..
..
..
45,516
        
37,791
       
32,934
        
Oct-Dec
131,076
145,499
..
..
..
44,278
        
36,452
       
34,748
        
Jan-Mar
134,465
145,827
..
..
..
57,787
        
40,090
       
35,108
        
2013-14
Apr-Jun
41,280
108,939
..
..
..
35,349
        
34,779
       
36,551
        
Jul-Sep
43,791
82,327
..
..
..
27,218
        
25,156
       
35,255
        
Oct-Dec
41,897
66,239
..
..
..
27,567
        
23,558
       
36,551
        
Jan-Mar
45,878
62,314
..
..
..
27,300
        
24,607
       
39,347
        
2014-15
Apr-Jun
42,205
51,080
..
..
-
26,512
        
23,149
       
33,938
        

1 Figures exclude determinations made by Specialist telephone advice service (available in the underlying data file) 2 Figures exclude Housing possession court duty scheme, Telephone operator service and Community legal advice centre

## Table 2.1: Crime Lower Workload (Count)

Case volume for crime lower 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 (data available from 2001-02 in accompanying Excel tables)
Financial Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Quarter
Jul-Sep
Oct-Dec
Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep
Oct-Dec
Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep
Oct-Dec
Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
2012-13
2013-14
2011-12
Pre-charge suspects
792,704
733,741
736,282
208,710
191,396
190,988
182,620
190,804
178,556
181,761
183,560
187,748
181,549
183,425
179,900
Attendance
641,727
608,369
616,178
168,482
154,035
156,869
150,460
157,532
148,081
152,296
153,231
156,936
151,462
154,549
151,409
Attendance on immigration issues
39
34
52
8
11
8
10
8
7
9
8
13
16
15
26
Duty solicitor standby (claims)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Telephone advice only
27,899
22,421
20,698
7,489
6,455
6,618
6,026
5,882
5,244
5,269
5,293
5,324
4,945
5,136
4,762
Telephone advice admin costs
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
CDS Direct telephone advice
115,497
96,738
94,627
30,796
29,060
25,628
24,564
25,720
23,792
22,662
23,785
24,250
24,020
22,572
22,652
Free standing advice and assistance (not in police station)
7,086
5,761
4,360
1,810
1,724
1,748
1,456
1,535
1,339
1,431
1,150
1,119
1,033
1,058
969
Warrants of further detention
456
418
367
125
111
117
104
127
93
94
93
106
73
95
82
Charged defendants1
15,588
15,972
12,965
3,962
3,790
4,022
3,995
4,095
3,941
3,941
3,553
3,428
2,973
3,011
2,674
Post charge police station advice and assistance
1,580
1,260
1,112
386
375
374
328
317
300
315
320
319
245
228
224
Refused means test form completion fee
1,582
1,591
1,351
379
393
411
377
431
429
354
340
314
364
333
301
Early cover
2,783
2,796
2,193
739
696
662
703
708
727
658
594
544
511
544
454
Preparation: representation order refused
3,974
3,662
3,066
1,074
934
994
937
937
876
912
751
836
707
772
614
Advice and assistance
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advocacy assistance
756
699
616
216
159
168
167
160
195
177
194
178
120
124
122
Assistance by way of representation
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Appeals, reviews and other courts
3,628
4,270
3,387
881
910
1,014
1,095
1,109
1,009
1,057
1,004
882
744
757
782
Civil assistance on criminal matters
1,280
1,693
1,240
286
322
398
387
433
405
468
350
355
282
253
177
Firms claiming for file review payments
5
1
-
1
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Early first or administrative hearings
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Free standing advice and assistance
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Extended court sitting hours pilot
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Representation at Magistrates' court2
480,105
442,029
418,680
125,132
118,203
121,644
110,191
114,408
107,187
110,243
105,504
106,174
102,309
104,693
98,905
Lower standard fees
321,205
291,658
273,470
83,687
78,506
81,527
73,168
75,459
70,231
72,800
68,906
69,781
65,946
68,837
64,425
Higher standard fees
57,747
54,398
52,652
14,713
14,137
15,412
13,834
13,590
13,314
13,660
13,194
13,136
12,946
13,376
12,434
Non-standard fees and exempt cases
18,237
18,154
17,755
5,278
4,845
4,310
3,935
5,419
4,342
4,458
4,455
4,236
4,933
4,131
4,105
Second claims for deferred sentencing
881
897
712
163
253
301
235
194
236
232
193
175
170
174
189
Court duty solicitor (sessions)
82,035
76,922
74,091
21,291
20,462
20,094
19,019
19,746
19,064
19,093
18,756
18,846
18,314
18,175
17,752
Prison law
42,803
41,323
35,414
10,625
10,590
11,359
10,625
10,236
10,244
10,218
9,850
9,131
8,669
7,764
6,330
Free standing advice and assistance
34,636
33,268
26,744
8,607
8,673
9,155
8,646
8,291
8,226
8,105
7,603
7,062
6,559
5,520
4,038
Advocacy assistance at prison discipline hearings
4,353
4,020
4,192
1,113
956
1,170
993
974
966
1,087
1,083
1,037
1,031
1,041
1,092
Advocacy assistance at parole board hearings
3,814
4,035
4,478
905
961
1,034
986
971
1,052
1,026
1,164
1,032
1,079
1,203
1,200

1 No representation required or refused
2 Figures include Court duty solicitor sessions Underlying data further breakdowns available on:  detailed types of work available
 

## Table 2.2: Crime Lower Workload (Value £'000)

Values for crime lower 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 (data available from 2001-02 in accompanying Excel tables)

| Financial Year                                              | 2011-12   | 2012-13   | 2013-14   | 2014-15   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Quarter                                                     |           |           |           |           |
| Jul-Sep                                                     | Oct-Dec   | Jan-Mar   | Apr-Jun   | Jul-Sep   |
| 2012-13                                                     | 2013-14   | 2011-12   |           |           |
| Pre-charge suspects                                         |           |           |           |           |
| 169,445                                                     | 160,124   | 160,698   | 44,184    | 40,813    |
| Attendance                                                  |           |           |           |           |
| 161,219                                                     | 153,138   | 154,945   | 42,297    | 38,750    |
| Attendance on immigration issues                            |           |           |           |           |
| 10                                                          | 10        | 12        | 2         | 3         |
| Duty solicitor standby (claims)                             |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Telephone advice only                                       |           |           |           |           |
| 1,042                                                       | 839       | 780       | 282       | 241       |
| Telephone advice admin costs                                |           |           |           |           |
| 3,285                                                       | 3,086     | 2,605     | 596       | 836       |
| CDS Direct telephone advice                                 |           |           |           |           |
| 2,614                                                       | 1,959     | 1,490     | 702       | 657       |
| Free standing advice and assistance (not in police station) |           |           |           |           |
| 1,191                                                       | 1,006     | 795       | 283       | 305       |
| Warrants of further detention                               |           |           |           |           |
| 84                                                          | 85        | 71        | 21        | 21        |
| Charged defendants                                          |           |           |           |           |
| 1                                                           |           |           |           |           |
| 5,748                                                       | 6,950     | 5,347     | 1,458     | 1,580     |
| Post charge police station advice and assistance            |           |           |           |           |
| 159                                                         | 133       | 125       | 37        | 41        |
| Refused means test form completion fee                      |           |           |           |           |
| 47                                                          | 48        | 40        | 11        | 12        |
| Early cover                                                 |           |           |           |           |
| 250                                                         | 251       | 197       | 66        | 63        |
| Preparation: representation order refused                   |           |           |           |           |
| 225                                                         | 209       | 175       | 61        | 53        |
| Advice and assistance                                       |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Advocacy assistance                                         |           |           |           |           |
| 279                                                         | 208       | 203       | 88        | 56        |
| Assistance by way of representation                         |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Appeals, reviews and other courts                           |           |           |           |           |
| 4,333                                                       | 5,525     | 4,174     | 1,090     | 1,246     |
| Civil assistance on criminal matters                        |           |           |           |           |
| 434                                                         | 556       | 432       | 102       | 109       |
| Firms claiming for file review payments                     |           |           |           |           |
| 21                                                          | 19        | -         | 3         | 1         |
| Early first or administrative hearings                      |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Free standing advice and assistance                         |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Extended court sitting hours pilot                          |           |           |           |           |
| -                                                           | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| Representation at Magistrates' court                        |           |           |           |           |
| 2                                                           |           |           |           |           |
| 210,892                                                     | 198,411   | 190,230   | 54,969    | 53,281    |
| Lower standard fees                                         |           |           |           |           |
| 103,107                                                     | 95,147    | 89,785    | 26,362    | 25,687    |
| Higher standard fees                                        |           |           |           |           |
| 51,331                                                      | 47,553    | 46,163    | 13,079    | 12,661    |
| Non-standard fees and exempt cases                          |           |           |           |           |
| 33,243                                                      | 33,487    | 32,182    | 9,528     | 9,130     |
| Second claims for deferred sentencing                       |           |           |           |           |
| 290                                                         | 316       | 240       | 50        | 86        |
| Court duty solicitor (sessions)                             |           |           |           |           |
| 22,922                                                      | 21,908    | 21,860    | 5,950     | 5,716     |
| Prison law                                                  | 22,685    | 21,295    | 20,008    | 5,612     |
| Free standing advice and assistance                         |           |           |           |           |
| 12,804                                                      | 11,839    | 9,873     | 3,186     | 3,101     |
| Advocacy assistance at prison discipline hearings           |           |           |           |           |
| 2,019                                                       | 1,758     | 1,701     | 534       | 415       |
| Advocacy assistance at parole board hearings                |           |           |           |           |
| 7,863                                                       | 7,697     | 8,434     | 1,893     | 1,886     |

1 No representation required or refused
2 Figures include Court duty solicitor sessions Underlying data further breakdowns available on:  detailed types of work split available
 

## Table 3.1: Magistrates' Court: Legal Aid Applications And Grants

Number of applications and number granted for legal aid funding for cases heard at the magistrates' courts, 2010-11 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 

Unknown1
Total
Summary only 
offences
Either way 
offences
Committal for 
sentence
Financial Year
Quarter
Volume of 
applications
Volume 
granted
Volume of 
applications
Volume 
granted
Volume of 
applications
Volume 
granted
Volume of 
applications
Volume 
granted
Volume of 
applications
Volume 
granted
2010-11
202,289
185,015
191,810
180,914
9,268
8,795
71,244
66,072
474,611
440,796
2011-12
222,580
203,878
214,481
203,770
14,164
13,392
21
18
451,246
421,058
2012-13
199,823
183,206
196,915
187,271
12,677
11,914
19
19
409,434
382,410
2013-14
183,163
169,070
200,234
192,377
10,018
9,525
32
31
393,447
371,003
2011-12
Apr-Jun
55,816
51,021
52,855
50,033
3,265
3,086
11
8
111,947
104,148
Jul-Sep
59,717
54,873
56,241
53,475
3,845
3,628
5
5
119,808
111,981
Oct-Dec
52,068
47,640
52,144
49,617
3,503
3,330
2
2
107,717
100,589
Jan-Mar
54,979
50,344
53,241
50,645
3,551
3,348
3
3
111,774
104,340
2012-13
Apr-Jun
50,066
45,625
49,007
46,418
3,246
3,030
16
16
102,335
95,089
Jul-Sep
52,619
48,290
51,583
49,022
3,359
3,169
1
1
107,562
100,482
Oct-Dec
47,929
44,020
47,739
45,446
3,115
2,917
98,783
92,383
Jan-Mar
49,209
45,271
48,586
46,385
2,957
2,798
2
2
100,754
94,456
2013-14
Apr-Jun
46,149
42,418
49,747
47,710
2,808
2,658
29
28
98,733
92,814
Jul-Sep
47,850
44,131
50,649
48,568
2,600
2,470
0
0
101,099
95,169
Oct-Dec
43,551
40,280
49,417
47,511
2,459
2,347
1
1
95,428
90,139
Jan-Mar
45,613
42,241
50,421
48,588
2,151
2,050
2
2
98,187
92,881
2014-15
Apr-Jun
42,451
39,503
48,029
46,276
1,819
1,747
1
0
92,300
87,526

1 In some applications the case type is not known and during system introduction this information was not recorded Underlying data further breakdowns available on: Gender
 
 
Application grant rate of legal aid funding for cases heard at the Crown Court 2010-11 to 2013-14 with quarterly data for Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 

| Total         | Appeals   |
|---------------|-----------|
| 1             |           |
| Either way    |           |
| offences      |           |
| Indictable    |           |
| offences      |           |
| Committal for |           |
| sentence      |           |
| Financial     |           |
| Year          |           |
| Quarter       |           |
| Volume of     |           |
| applications  |           |
| Volume        |           |
| granted       |           |
| Volume of     |           |
| applications  |           |
| Volume        |           |
| granted       |           |
| Volume of     |           |
| applications  |           |
| Volume        |           |
| granted       |           |
| Volume of     |           |
| applications  |           |
| Volume        |           |
| granted       |           |
| Volume of     |           |
| applications  |           |
| Volume        |           |
| granted       |           |
| 2010-11       | 57,519    |
| 2011-12       | 66,404    |
| 2012-13       | 54,902    |
| 2013-14       | 67,839    |
| 2011-12       | Apr-Jun   |
| Jul-Sep       | 18,607    |
| Oct-Dec       | 15,399    |
| Jan-Mar       | 15,511    |
| 2012-13       | Apr-Jun   |
| Jul-Sep       | 14,001    |
| Oct-Dec       | 13,470    |
| Jan-Mar       | 13,769    |
| 2013-14       | Apr-Jun   |
| Jul-Sep       | 17,375    |
| Oct-Dec       | 17,867    |
| Jan-Mar       | 17,716    |
| 2014-15       | Apr-Jun   |

1 Appeal cases do not require income contribution but will be required to pay a fixed contribution at the end of their appeal if it is unsuccessful Underlying data further breakdowns available on: Gender

## Table 4.1: Crime Higher Workload

Case volume, total value and average cost of legal aid funding for the crime higher legal aid scheme 2009-10 to 2013-14, with quarterly data from Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014

| Value (£'000)   | Volume of completed cases   |
|-----------------|-----------------------------|
| Litigator       |                             |
| Graduated       |                             |
| Fee             |                             |
| Scheme          |                             |
| (LGFS)          |                             |
| 1               |                             |
| Advocate        |                             |
| Graduated       |                             |
| Fee             |                             |
| Scheme          |                             |
| (AGFS)          |                             |
| 1               |                             |
| Litigator       |                             |
| Graduated       |                             |
| Fee             |                             |
| Scheme          |                             |
| (LGFS)          |                             |
| 1               |                             |
| Advocate        |                             |
| Graduated       |                             |
| Fee             |                             |
| Scheme          |                             |
| (AGFS)          |                             |
| 1               |                             |
| Financial       |                             |
| Year            |                             |
| Quarter         |                             |
| Complex         |                             |
| Crime           |                             |
| Unit            |                             |
| 2,3             |                             |
| Complex         |                             |
| Crime           |                             |
| Unit            |                             |
| 2,3             |                             |
| 2009-10         | 261,233                     |
| 2010-11         | 302,964                     |
| 2011-12         | 335,449                     |
| 2012-13         | 312,091                     |
| 2013-14         | 285,585                     |
| 2011-12         | Apr-Jun                     |
| Jul-Sep         | 96,923                      |
| Oct-Dec         | 71,653                      |
| Jan-Mar         | 99,435                      |
| 2012-13         | Apr-Jun                     |
| Jul-Sep         | 77,784                      |
| Oct-Dec         | 78,497                      |
| Jan-Mar         | 71,696                      |
| 2013-14         | Apr-Jun                     |
| Jul-Sep         | 76,983                      |
| Oct-Dec         | 68,983                      |
| Jan-Mar         | 68,951                      |
| 2014-15         | Apr-Jun                     |

1 The figures for graduated fee schemes are based on total value of cases that were completed in the relevant year, whereas previous published figures were shown on the basis of when payments were made. This change has been made to bring the reporting of payments into line with the adjacent figures on volume of cases. Some payments relating to the first part of 2011-12 were processed in a previous, separate payment system from which it is not currently possible to determine the precise timing of case completion, and these payments have therefore been excluded, which reduces the total for the year. For a quarterly breakdown of these figures please see tables 4.2 and 4.3
2 The Complex Crime Unit manages all Very High Cost Cases under a criminal legal aid contract
3 No average cost of claims is reported as each contract has multiple staged payments

Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS), volume and value, 2009-10 to 2013-14, with quarterly data from Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014
Volume
Value (£'000)
Committal 
for 
Sentence Appeal Other1
Total 
LGFS
2009-102
17,399
31,080
49,132
17,723
6,101
4,708
126,143
132,238
 
78,555
     
42,722
   
5,364
         
1,820
  
533
    
261,233
 
2010-11
20,071
35,846
47,701
15,118
4,912
6,811
130,459
141,873
 
102,719
   
50,750
   
5,146
         
1,705
  
771
    
302,964
 
2011-12
20,968
33,675
47,040
18,879
4,758
7,250
132,570
162,379
 
106,850
   
57,315
   
6,442
         
1,629
  
834
    
335,449
 
2012-13
21,421
28,555
42,645
19,315
4,610
6,574
123,120
175,757
 
81,544
     
45,742
   
6,668
         
1,626
  
754
    
312,091
 
2013-14
19,531
23,619
43,819
16,490
3,795
4,673
111,927
174,126
 
60,745
     
43,142
   
5,691
         
1,333
  
548
    
285,585
 
Committal 
for 
Sentence Appeal
Other1
Total 
LGFS
Trial
Cracked 
Trial
Guilty 
Plea
Financial 
Year
Quarter
Trial
Cracked 
Trial
Guilty 
Plea
2011-12
Apr-Jun
4,059
6,748
9,131
3,493
639
1,551
25,621
33,809
   
21,045
     
10,976
   
1,205
         
232
     
173
    
67,439
   
Jul-Sep
6,179
10,604
15,000
6,296
1,842
1,951
41,872
43,078
   
32,526
     
18,376
   
2,119
         
601
     
223
    
96,923
   
Oct-Dec
4,534
6,925
9,692
4,221
1,018
812
27,202
35,521
   
22,237
     
12,002
   
1,437
         
363
     
93
      
71,653
   
Jan-Mar
6,196
9,398
13,217
4,869
1,259
2,936
37,875
49,972
   
31,043
     
15,961
   
1,681
         
433
     
345
    
99,435
   
2012-13
Apr-Jun
5,602
8,308
11,385
4,611
1,042
1,532
32,480
44,016
   
24,992
     
12,965
   
1,604
         
364
     
174
    
84,115
   
Jul-Sep
5,048
6,698
10,195
4,886
1,231
1,679
29,737
44,654
   
20,055
     
10,757
   
1,684
         
436
     
198
    
77,784
   
Oct-Dec
5,706
7,174
11,158
4,989
1,236
1,730
31,993
45,771
   
18,422
     
11,977
   
1,690
         
441
     
196
    
78,497
   
Jan-Mar
5,065
6,375
9,907
4,829
1,101
1,633
28,910
41,316
   
18,075
     
10,044
   
1,690
         
385
     
186
    
71,696
   
2013-14
Apr-Jun
4,983
6,274
10,395
3,987
936
1,247
27,822
42,070
   
16,345
     
10,373
   
1,388
         
339
     
152
    
70,668
   
Jul-Sep
5,135
6,073
10,771
4,412
998
1,227
28,616
48,727
   
15,373
     
10,834
   
1,552
         
353
     
144
    
76,983
   
Oct-Dec
4,909
5,890
11,533
4,288
1,043
1,226
28,889
41,388
   
14,572
     
11,061
   
1,458
         
365
     
140
    
68,983
   
Jan-Mar
4,504
5,382
11,120
3,803
818
973
26,600
41,942
   
14,455
     
10,873
   
1,293
         
275
     
112
    
68,951
   
2014-15
Apr-Jun
4,447
5,661
11,517
3,980
879
1,073
27,557
40,984
   
13,382
     
11,359
   
1,342
         
301
     
120
    
67,488
   

1 The figures for other include Mags Committal fee, Breaches of Crown Court Orders, Elected cases not proceeded, Hearings Subsequent to Sentence and Contempt hearings
2 The figures for LGFS for 2009-10 are only partial as payments only cover Crown Court cases started after January 2008
Underlying data further breakdowns available on: offence type and detailed work type split 

Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), volume and value, 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data from Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014
Volume
Value (£'000)
Committal 
for 
Sentence Appeal Other1
Total 
AGFS
2011-122
19,113
 
28,120
     
39,472
  
14,281
        
3,632
  
9,402
 
114,020
  
107,565
68,813
38,581
3,184
726
2,121
220,990
2012-13
22,485
 
26,979
     
41,033
  
16,593
        
3,780
  
9,172
 
120,042
  
140,868
58,740
34,647
3,556
749
2,031
240,590
2013-14
22,192
 
23,359
     
44,856
  
15,813
        
3,454
  
8,670
 
118,344
  
138,072
42,592
36,119
3,329
679
2,034
222,826
Committal 
for 
Sentence Appeal Other1
Total 
AGFS
Trial
Cracked 
Trial
Guilty 
Plea
Financial 
Year
Quarter
Trial
Cracked 
Trial
Guilty 
Plea
2011-12
Apr-Jun
1,844
   
3,209
       
4,767
    
1,285
          
388
     
2,006
 
13,499
    
9,550
7,391
4,722
310
81
431
22,484
Jul-Sep
4,315
   
6,934
       
10,178
  
3,873
          
1,043
  
1,732
 
28,075
    
23,722
16,298
10,185
856
200
417
51,679
Oct-Dec
5,993
   
8,337
       
11,898
  
4,253
          
1,064
  
2,832
 
34,377
    
34,354
21,102
11,601
950
219
648
68,873
Jan-Mar
6,961
   
9,640
       
12,629
  
4,870
          
1,137
  
2,832
 
38,069
    
39,939
24,022
12,073
1,068
226
625
77,953
2012-13
Apr-Jun
5,789
   
7,574
       
10,416
  
4,102
          
882
     
2,242
 
31,005
    
36,609
17,207
9,344
909
177
529
64,774
Jul-Sep
5,583
   
6,670
       
10,307
  
4,202
          
994
     
2,309
 
30,065
    
38,622
15,169
8,740
901
199
472
64,102
Oct-Dec
5,815
   
6,592
       
10,446
  
3,975
          
855
     
2,215
 
29,898
    
34,061
13,541
8,585
832
163
471
57,653
Jan-Mar
5,298
   
6,143
       
9,864
    
4,314
          
1,049
  
2,406
 
29,074
    
31,576
12,823
7,979
914
211
559
54,060
2013-14
Apr-Jun
5,683
   
6,245
       
10,733
  
3,609
          
822
     
1,959
 
29,051
    
32,815
11,763
8,883
746
163
427
54,797
Jul-Sep
5,739
   
5,789
       
10,724
  
4,233
          
875
     
2,215
 
29,575
    
41,302
10,617
8,749
898
173
557
62,296
Oct-Dec
5,374
   
5,608
       
11,486
  
4,065
          
920
     
2,292
 
29,745
    
30,858
10,094
9,054
869
182
532
51,590
Jan-Mar
5,396
   
5,717
       
11,913
  
3,906
          
837
     
2,204
 
29,973
    
33,097
10,118
9,433
817
161
517
54,143
2014-15
Apr-Jun
4,873
   
5,146
       
11,190
  
3,143
          
689
     
1,849
 
26,890
    
30,748
9,080
8,896
672
136
455
49,986

1 The figures for other include Mags Committal fee, Breaches of Crown Court Orders, Elected cases not proceeded, Hearings Subsequent to Sentence and Contempt hearings 2 The figures for AGFS for 2011-12 are only partial due to the phased rollout of payments made by LAA
Underlying data further breakdowns available on: offence type and detailed work type split

## Table 4.4: High Cost Crime Cases

High Cost Cases- cases opened, contracts opened, contracts, and expenditure, 2006-07 to 2013-14
with quarterly data for Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014
Financial Year
Quarter
High Cost 
Crime Cases 
Opened
High Cost Crime 
Contracts 
Opened
High Cost Crime 
Contracts 
Closed
High Cost Crime 
Expenditure (000's)
2006-07
56
417
426
104,568
                  
2007-08
54
391
399
124,614
                  
2008-09
63
437
433
112,094
                  
2009-10
55
426
313
95,309
                    
2010-11
33
264
460
93,087
                    
2011-12
28
227
294
91,739
                    
2012-13
20
112
222
67,665
                    
2013-14
12
73
215
56,776
                    
2011-12
Apr-Jun
4
55
75
20,236
                    
Jul-Sep
14
65
62
20,680
                    
Oct-Dec
9
79
103
27,904
                    
Jan-Mar
1
28
54
22,919
                    
2012-13
Apr-Jun
1
22
81
19,794
                    
Jul-Sep
6
32
61
16,099
                    
Oct-Dec
5
27
41
16,186
                    
Jan-Mar
8
31
39
15,585
                    
2013-14
Apr-Jun
5
17
57
17,822
                    
Jul-Sep
4
24
37
15,141
                    
Oct-Dec
3
24
69
13,197
                    
Jan-Mar
0
8
52
10,616
                    
2014-15
Apr-Jun
0
5
26
9,301
                     

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: category of work and offence level

## Table 5.1: Legal Help Matters Started

Legal help matters started 1 for 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 (data available from 2001-02 in accompanying Excel tables)

| Financial Year                  | 2011-12   | 2012-13   | 2013-14   | 2014-15   |
|---------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Quarter                         |           |           |           |           |
| Jul-Sep                         | Oct-Dec   | Jan-Mar   | Apr-Jun   | Jul-Sep   |
| 2012-13                         | 2013-14   | 2011-12   |           |           |
| Total                           | 679,711   | 573,632   | 172,846   | 177,135   |
| Family                          | 232,389   | 204,251   | 42,628    | 60,105    |
| Social Welfare                  | 331,978   | 264,607   | 52,958    | 85,213    |
| Community care                  | 6,216     | 4,977     | 3,280     | 1,609     |
| Debt                            | 102,065   | 76,778    | 2,434     | 26,289    |
| Employment                      | 18,870    | 15,153    | 6         | 4,537     |
| Housing                         | 101,908   | 85,161    | 47,101    | 26,231    |
| Welfare benefits                | 102,919   | 82,538    | 137       | 26,547    |
| Low Volume                      | 15,031    | 11,094    | 7,081     | 4,138     |
| Actions against the police etc. | 4,007     | 2,948     | 2,229     | 1,211     |
| Clinical negligence             | 3,648     | 2,859     | 114       | 999       |
| Consumer                        | 550       | 335       | 141       | 153       |
| Discrimination                  | 2,301     | 733       | 671       | 429       |
| Education                       | 3,775     | 2,956     | 1,153     | 851       |
| Personal injury                 | 527       | 317       | 3         | 123       |
| Public law                      | 1,624     | 1,353     | 1,096     | 395       |
| Miscellaneous                   | 900       | 326       | 185       | 418       |
| Tribunals                       | 100,313   | 93,680    | 70,179    | 27,679    |
| Immigration                     | 60,791    | 52,386    | 28,122    | 17,114    |
| Mental health                   | 39,522    | 41,294    | 42,057    | 10,565    |

1 Data include Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service (excludes Community legal advice centre)
Underlying data further breakdowns available on: Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service and outcome benefit type 

## Table 5.2: Legal Help Matters Completed

Legal help matters completed 1 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 (data available from 2001-02 available in accompanying Excel tables)

| Financial Year                  | 2011-12   | 2012-13   | 2013-14   | 2014-15   |
|---------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Quarter                         |           |           |           |           |
| Jul-Sep                         | Oct-Dec   | Jan-Mar   | Apr-Jun   | Jul-Sep   |
| 2012-13                         | 2013-14   | 2011-12   |           |           |
| Total                           | 674,539   | 602,133   | 319,819   | 166,396   |
| Family                          | 227,580   | 200,552   | 117,354   | 56,757    |
| Social Welfare                  | 316,240   | 284,434   | 99,964    | 78,649    |
| Community care                  | 4,744     | 4,531     | 3,638     | 1,097     |
| Debt                            | 101,232   | 84,725    | 17,596    | 25,523    |
| Employment                      | 17,750    | 15,891    | 2,599     | 3,949     |
| Housing                         | 95,980    | 87,867    | 47,655    | 22,919    |
| Welfare benefits                | 96,534    | 91,420    | 28,476    | 25,161    |
| Low Volume                      | 13,834    | 11,367    | 7,634     | 3,281     |
| Actions against the police etc. | 3,134     | 2,532     | 2,308     | 745       |
| Clinical negligence             | 3,327     | 3,153     | 1,185     | 889       |
| Consumer                        | 701       | 468       | 191       | 180       |
| Discrimination                  | ..        | ..        | 1,584     | ..        |
| Education                       | 3,896     | 3,191     | 875       | 764       |
| Personal injury                 | 727       | 458       | 293       | 213       |
| Public law                      | 1,321     | 1,181     | 1,025     | 288       |
| Miscellaneous                   | 728       | 384       | 173       | 202       |
| Tribunals                       | 116,885   | 105,780   | 94,867    | 27,709    |
| Immigration                     | 77,199    | 62,789    | 49,197    | 18,169    |
| Mental health                   | 39,686    | 42,991    | 45,670    | 9,540     |

1 Data include Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service (excludes Community legal advice centre)
Underlying data further breakdowns available on: Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service and outcome benefit type 

## Table 5.3: Legal Help Matters Completed

Completed matters total value 1 of legal aid funding within legal help, 2011-13 to 2012-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 
(data available from 2008-09 available in accompanying Excel tables)

| Financial Year                  | 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14         | 2014-15                         |
|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Quarter                         |                                 |                                 |
| Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar         | Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar |
| 2012-13                         | 2013-14                         | 2011-12                         |
| Value (£'000s)                  |                                 |                                 |
| Total                           | 217,838 190,243 135,664         | 54,068                          |
| Family                          | 51,036                          | 40,769                          |
| Social Welfare                  | 70,524                          | 60,536                          |
| Community care                  | 2,292                           | 2,256                           |
| Debt                            | 21,257                          | 16,963                          |
| Employment                      | 5,675                           | 4,487                           |
| Housing                         | 21,169                          | 18,413                          |
| Welfare benefits                | 20,132                          | 18,417                          |
| Low Volume                      | 5,996                           | 5,732                           |
| Actions against the police etc. | 1,598                           | 1,471                           |
| Clinical negligence             | 1,237                           | 1,288                           |
| Consumer                        | 150                             | 134                             |
| Discrimination                  | ..                              | ..                              |
| Education                       | 1,908                           | 1,919                           |
| Personal injury                 | 247                             | 178                             |
| Public law                      | 686                             | 651                             |
| Miscellaneous                   | 169                             | 93                              |
| Tribunals                       | 90,282                          | 83,206                          |
| Immigration                     | 53,969                          | 45,445                          |
| Mental health                   | 36,313                          | 37,761                          |

1 Data include Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service (excludes Community legal advice centre)
Value for specialist telephone advice service only available from 2010-11 Underlying data further breakdowns available on: Solicitors, Not for profit organisations and Specialist telephone advice service and outcome benefit type

Applications 1 received for civil representation by category, 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 
(data available from 2006-07 available in accompanying Excel tables)
Financial Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Quarter
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
2012-13
2013-14
2011-12
Total
176,375
 
191,124
 
117,434
 
45,623
 
43,403
 
44,562
 
43,543
 
45,516
 
44,278
 
57,787
 
35,349
 
27,218
 
27,567
 
27,300
 
26,512
  
Family
147,095
 
161,339
 
93,043
   
38,040
 
36,303
 
37,204
 
36,430
 
38,336
 
37,265
 
49,308
 
28,958
 
21,080
 
21,308
 
21,697
 
20,824
  
Combined family proceedings
12
         
8
           
2
           
5
         
4
         
1
         
2
         
1
         
2
         
3
         
2
         
0
0
0
0
Domestic violence
17,652
   
17,401
   
16,766
   
4,805
   
4,199
   
4,187
   
4,317
   
4,392
   
4,149
   
4,543
   
3,948
   
4,291
   
4,343
   
4,184
   
4,089
    
Financial provision
10,978
   
12,860
   
2,788
     
2,849
   
2,677
   
2,675
   
2,379
   
2,439
   
2,316
   
5,726
   
2,231
   
178
      
166
      
213
      
207
       
Help with mediation
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Other family proceedings
3,591
     
3,637
     
833
       
974
      
810
      
918
      
841
      
852
      
716
      
1,228
   
562
      
103
      
83
        
85
       
81
        
Other public law Children Act proceedings
8,176
     
8,861
     
7,928
     
2,070
   
2,025
   
2,099
   
2,089
   
2,038
   
2,159
   
2,575
   
1,984
   
1,934
   
1,898
   
2,112
   
2,114
    
Private law Children Act proceedings
61,692
   
70,293
   
16,956
   
15,766
 
14,990
 
15,944
 
15,627
 
16,185
 
15,553
 
22,928
 
8,067
   
3,050
   
2,837
   
3,002
   
2,913
    
Special Children Act proceedings
44,994
   
48,279
   
47,770
   
11,571
 
11,598
 
11,380
 
11,175
 
12,429
 
12,370
 
12,305
 
12,164
 
11,524
 
11,981
 
12,101
 
11,420
  
Social Welfare
15,189
   
15,272
   
13,264
   
3,968
   
3,737
   
3,776
   
3,675
   
3,708
   
3,711
   
4,178
   
3,431
   
3,292
   
3,381
   
3,160
   
3,181
    
Community care
909
       
1,005
     
959
       
224
      
238
      
216
      
221
      
236
      
273
      
275
      
245
      
264
      
231
      
219
      
201
       
Debt
410
       
355
       
210
       
131
      
83
        
88
       
103
      
88
       
80
        
84
       
85
       
44
       
45
        
36
       
29
        
Employment
117
       
91
         
25
         
37
       
28
        
24
       
31
       
22
       
12
        
26
       
9
         
4
         
8
         
4
         
12
        
Housing
13,708
   
13,775
   
12,047
   
3,566
   
3,380
   
3,439
   
3,309
   
3,355
   
3,335
   
3,776
   
3,085
   
2,975
   
3,092
   
2,895
   
2,934
    
Welfare benefits
45
         
46
         
23
         
10
       
8
         
9
         
11
       
7
         
11
        
17
       
7
         
5
         
5
         
6
         
5
          
Low Volume
10,054
   
9,970
     
5,870
     
2,601
   
2,322
   
2,542
   
2,318
   
2,307
   
2,264
   
3,081
   
1,619
   
1,390
   
1,466
   
1,395
   
1,684
    
Actions against the police etc.
1,689
     
1,888
     
1,306
     
403
      
390
      
490
      
460
      
439
      
494
      
495
      
342
      
313
      
349
      
302
      
330
       
Clinical negligence
4,039
     
3,853
     
821
       
1,107
   
937
      
994
      
890
      
861
      
749
      
1,353
   
294
      
178
      
170
      
179
      
169
       
Consumer
384
       
297
       
73
         
93
       
83
        
87
       
83
       
83
       
45
        
86
       
61
       
4
         
4
         
4
         
1
          
Discrimination
-
1
           
22
         
-
-
-
0
0
0
1
         
6
         
3
         
8
         
5
         
6
          
Education
182
       
203
       
82
         
39
       
34
        
46
       
50
       
46
       
57
        
50
       
29
       
23
       
23
        
7
         
13
        
Personal injury
38
         
19
         
9
           
8
         
11
        
5
         
4
         
5
         
6
         
4
         
2
         
4
         
1
         
2
         
0
Public law
2,724
     
2,812
     
2,607
     
678
      
645
      
716
      
592
      
653
      
735
      
832
      
692
      
707
      
707
      
501
      
562
       
Miscellaneous
998
       
897
       
950
       
273
      
222
      
204
      
239
      
220
      
178
      
260
      
193
      
158
      
204
      
395
      
603
       
Tribunals
4,037
     
4,543
     
5,257
     
1,014
   
1,041
   
1,040
   
1,120
   
1,165
   
1,038
   
1,220
   
1,341
   
1,456
   
1,412
   
1,048
   
823
       
Immigration
3,278
     
3,853
     
4,625
     
800
      
820
      
860
      
939
      
999
      
867
      
1,048
   
1,191
   
1,300
   
1,259
   
875
      
645
       
Mental health
759
       
690
       
632
       
214
      
221
      
180
      
181
      
166
      
171
      
172
      
150
      
156
      
153
      
173
      
178
       

1 Figures include data from the latest administrative system Underlying data further breakdowns available on: sub category of case to Judicial review and if evidence for Child abuse or domestic violence was supplied
 

Certificates granted 1 including grants for emergency certificates for civil representation by category, 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 
(data available from 2006-07 available in accompanying Excel tables)
Financial Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Quarter
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
2012-13
2013-14
2011-12
Total
148,279
 
150,472
 
108,100
 
37,576
 
37,528
 
38,307
 
36,139
 
37,791
 
36,452
 
40,090
 
34,779
 
25,156
 
23,558
 
24,607
 
23,149
 
Family
125,950
 
127,776
 
89,758
   
32,135
 
31,955
 
32,281
 
30,565
 
32,278
 
31,086
 
33,847
 
29,878
 
20,671
 
19,160
 
20,049
 
18,762
 
Combined family proceedings
12
         
5
           
2
           
4
         
4
         
2
         
2
         
1
         
2
         
2
         
0
0
0
0
Domestic violence
16,258
   
15,720
   
15,264
   
4,397
   
3,806
   
3,967
   
3,914
   
3,968
   
3,679
   
4,159
   
3,631
   
4,024
   
3,754
   
3,855
   
3,700
   
Financial provision
7,337
     
6,202
     
3,814
     
1,787
   
2,049
   
1,882
   
1,486
   
1,493
   
1,481
   
1,742
   
2,795
   
724
      
166
      
129
      
148
      
Help with mediation
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Other family proceedings
1,390
     
1,353
     
399
       
366
      
378
      
342
      
325
      
363
      
320
      
345
      
295
      
59
       
23
        
22
       
24
       
Other public law Children Act proceedings
6,989
     
7,287
     
6,702
     
1,713
   
1,775
   
1,825
   
1,768
   
1,794
   
1,765
   
1,960
   
1,779
   
1,623
   
1,534
   
1,766
   
1,755
   
Private law Children Act proceedings
49,113
   
49,218
   
16,672
   
12,405
 
12,610
 
12,777
 
11,877
 
12,235
 
11,863
 
13,243
 
9,344
   
2,932
   
2,090
   
2,306
   
2,135
   
Special Children Act proceedings
44,851
   
47,991
   
46,905
   
11,463
 
11,333
 
11,486
 
11,195
 
12,423
 
11,977
 
12,396
 
12,032
 
11,309
 
11,593
 
11,971
 
11,000
 
Social Welfare
12,986
   
13,104
   
11,608
   
3,351
   
3,141
   
3,432
   
3,153
   
3,209
   
3,162
   
3,580
   
2,960
   
2,864
   
2,790
   
2,994
   
2,824
   
Community care
759
       
831
       
582
       
186
      
180
      
211
      
187
      
196
      
233
      
215
      
145
      
147
      
139
      
151
      
128
      
Debt
231
       
192
       
138
       
79
       
42
        
52
       
53
       
47
       
51
        
41
       
56
       
37
       
25
        
20
       
25
       
Employment
62
         
53
         
12
         
15
       
19
        
14
       
11
       
16
       
7
         
19
       
8
         
2
         
0
2
         
0
Housing
11,912
   
12,012
   
10,868
   
3,068
   
2,895
   
3,147
   
2,899
   
2,946
   
2,869
   
3,298
   
2,749
   
2,678
   
2,623
   
2,818
   
2,670
   
Welfare benefits
22
         
16
         
8
           
3
         
5
         
8
         
3
         
4
         
2
         
7
         
2
         
0
3
         
3
         
1
         
Low Volume
6,168
     
5,945
     
3,745
     
1,388
   
1,589
   
1,759
   
1,523
   
1,431
   
1,362
   
1,629
   
1,285
   
799
      
792
      
869
      
1,071
   
Actions against the police etc.
1,161
     
1,225
     
748
       
238
      
281
      
361
      
304
      
303
      
296
      
322
      
232
      
157
      
148
      
211
      
261
      
Clinical negligence
2,638
     
2,399
     
1,031
     
615
      
691
      
739
      
671
      
595
      
496
      
637
      
540
      
183
      
139
      
169
      
163
      
Consumer
149
       
122
       
54
         
39
       
31
        
42
       
39
       
38
       
27
        
18
       
42
       
10
       
2
         
0
0
Discrimination
-
1
           
4
           
-
-
-
0
0
0
1
         
2
         
0
1
         
1
         
0
Education
125
       
137
       
43
         
25
       
27
        
34
       
27
       
34
       
42
        
34
       
14
       
15
       
11
        
3
         
6
         
Personal injury
6
           
8
           
2
           
1
         
2
         
4
         
2
         
1
         
1
         
1
         
1
         
0
0
0
Public law
1,695
     
1,801
     
1,570
     
360
      
464
      
494
      
395
      
407
      
435
      
564
      
398
      
396
      
447
      
329
      
342
      
Miscellaneous
394
       
252
       
293
       
110
      
93
        
89
       
83
       
52
       
65
        
52
       
56
       
37
       
44
        
156
      
299
      
Tribunals
3,175
     
3,647
     
2,989
     
702
      
843
      
835
      
898
      
873
      
842
      
1,034
   
656
      
822
      
816
      
695
      
492
      
Immigration
2,566
     
3,141
     
2,536
     
540
      
674
      
677
      
772
      
743
      
717
      
909
      
561
      
704
      
717
      
554
      
336
      
Mental health
609
       
506
       
453
       
162
      
169
      
158
      
126
      
130
      
125
      
125
      
95
       
118
      
99
        
141
      
156
      

1 Figures include data from the latest administrative system Underlying data further breakdowns available on: sub category of case to Judicial review and if evidence for Child abuse or domestic violence was supplied
 

Certificates completed 1 for civil representation by category, 2011-12 to 2013-14, with quarterly data for Jul-Sep 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014 
(data available from 2008-09 in accompanying Excel tables)
Financial Year
2011-12
2012-13 2013-141
2014-15
Quarter
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar
Apr-Jun
2012-13
2013-14
2011-12
Total
138,131
 
137,288
 
147,704
 
36,844
 
34,181
 
35,849
 
34,498
 
32,934
 
34,748
 
35,108
 
36,551
 
35,255
 
36,551
 
39,347
 
33,938
 
Family
117,545
 
118,142
 
129,517
 
31,449
 
28,853
 
30,775
 
29,182
 
28,436
 
30,006
 
30,518
 
31,993
 
30,718
 
32,172
 
34,634
 
29,174
 
Combined family proceedings
22
         
10
         
8
           
4
         
5
         
8
         
4
         
2
         
1
         
3
         
2
         
1
         
2
         
3
         
1
         
Domestic violence
16,065
   
15,204
   
14,250
   
4,250
   
3,860
   
4,449
   
3,964
   
3,750
   
3,804
   
3,686
   
3,650
   
2,992
   
3,523
   
4,085
   
3,677
   
Financial provision
9,391
     
7,719
     
7,031
     
2,460
   
2,506
   
2,218
   
2,190
   
1,933
   
1,831
   
1,765
   
1,720
   
1,625
   
2,040
   
1,646
   
1,579
   
Help with mediation
51
         
26
         
8
           
16
       
11
        
7
         
11
       
9
         
4
         
2
         
3
         
2
         
3
         
0
0
Other family proceedings
1,193
     
1,137
     
1,205
     
334
      
287
      
331
      
279
      
291
      
281
      
286
      
339
      
319
      
239
      
308
      
261
      
Other public law Children Act proceedings
6,314
     
6,233
     
6,960
     
1,674
   
1,520
   
1,589
   
1,526
   
1,440
   
1,648
   
1,619
   
1,675
   
1,678
   
1,642
   
1,965
   
1,719
   
Private law Children Act proceedings
48,808
   
44,929
   
44,309
   
13,623
 
11,958
 
12,244
 
11,752
 
10,836
 
10,936
 
11,405
 
11,629
 
11,133
 
10,822
 
10,725
 
8,387
   
Special Children Act proceedings
35,701
   
42,884
   
55,746
   
9,088
   
8,706
   
9,929
   
9,456
   
10,175
 
11,501
 
11,752
 
12,975
 
12,968
 
13,901
 
15,902
 
13,550
 
Social Welfare
11,304
   
10,978
   
11,315
   
2,939
   
3,067
   
2,855
   
3,054
   
2,552
   
2,634
   
2,738
   
2,749
   
2,771
   
2,829
   
2,966
   
3,081
   
Community care
705
       
685
       
704
       
147
      
214
      
206
      
200
      
134
      
169
      
182
      
157
      
167
      
174
      
206
      
175
      
Debt
287
       
219
       
179
       
82
       
74
        
61
       
70
       
52
       
53
        
44
       
45
       
47
       
44
        
43
       
32
       
Employment
46
         
39
         
27
         
13
       
17
        
7
         
13
       
4
         
10
        
12
       
8
         
8
         
5
         
6
         
7
         
Housing
10,249
   
10,016
   
10,392
   
2,692
   
2,758
   
2,579
   
2,769
   
2,358
   
2,396
   
2,493
   
2,532
   
2,544
   
2,606
   
2,710
   
2,866
   
Welfare benefits
17
         
19
         
13
         
5
         
4
         
2
         
2
         
4
         
6
         
7
         
7
         
5
         
0
1
         
1
         
Low Volume
6,996
     
5,981
     
5,022
     
1,770
   
1,661
   
1,736
   
1,759
   
1,431
   
1,494
   
1,297
   
1,303
   
1,287
   
1,152
   
1,280
   
1,232
   
Actions against the police etc.
786
       
841
       
795
       
184
      
171
      
253
      
259
      
185
      
202
      
195
      
196
      
231
      
168
      
200
      
181
      
Clinical negligence
3,542
     
2,762
     
2,360
     
869
      
829
      
871
      
813
      
681
      
691
      
577
      
592
      
591
      
549
      
628
      
539
      
Consumer
335
       
223
       
148
       
81
       
90
        
75
       
63
       
55
       
62
        
43
       
36
       
37
       
38
        
37
       
23
       
Discrimination
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Education
173
       
113
       
109
       
55
       
49
        
30
       
34
       
24
       
23
        
32
       
31
       
25
       
28
        
25
       
19
       
Personal injury
354
       
284
       
86
         
71
       
90
        
74
       
112
      
60
       
80
        
32
       
31
       
23
       
7
         
25
       
24
       
Public law
1,239
     
1,309
     
1,224
     
355
      
293
      
298
      
334
      
302
      
341
      
332
      
337
      
306
      
283
      
298
      
293
      
Miscellaneous
567
       
449
       
300
       
155
      
139
      
135
      
144
      
124
      
95
        
86
       
80
       
74
       
79
        
67
       
153
      
Tribunals
2,286
     
2,187
     
1,850
     
686
      
600
      
483
      
503
      
515
      
614
      
555
      
506
      
479
      
398
      
467
      
451
      
Immigration
1,938
     
1,788
     
1,467
     
600
      
518
      
376
      
403
      
435
      
517
      
433
      
404
      
392
      
318
      
353
      
361
      
Mental health
348
       
399
       
383
       
86
       
82
        
107
      
100
      
80
       
97
        
122
      
102
      
87
       
80
        
114
      
90
       

1 Data does not include cases completed in the LAA's new administrative system, including these would raise completed volumes by an estimated 0.6% and total value by less than 0.5%.

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: high cost case split, outcome, benefit type, Judicial review split and if evidence for Child abuse or domestic violence was supplied

Volume and total value of the Civil Representation cases completed, Apr-Jun 2013 to Apr-Jun 2014 
Apr-Jun 2013
Jul-Sep 2013
Oct-Dec 2013
Jan-Mar 2014
Apr-Jun 2014
Civil representation
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Total
35,634
  
195,253
 
34,240
   
191,755
 
35,597
   
203,195
 
38,216
   
212,452
 
32,840
   
196,328
 
Family
31,931
180,593
30,665
176,840
32,127
188,706
34,581
196,566
29,116
180,678
Combined family proceedings
2
10
1
10
2
7
3
3
1
1
Domestic violence
3,646
11,691
2,987
9,187
3,522
10,776
4,075
10,712
3,675
10,650
Financial provision
1,671
5,948
1,582
6,142
2,004
7,790
1,607
5,178
1,529
5,334
Help with Mediation
3
4
2
2
3
3
0
0
0
0
Other family proceedings
337
1,184
318
1,336
238
1,040
306
2,464
261
1,130
Other public law Children Act proceedings
1,675
7,614
1,677
7,841
1,642
7,262
1,965
8,034
1,718
9,312
Private law Children Act proceedings
11,626
40,408
11,132
40,037
10,817
38,223
10,723
39,632
8,386
36,702
Special Children Act proceedings
12,971
113,736
12,966
112,285
13,899
123,604
15,902
130,544
13,546
117,550
Social Welfare
2,446
6,737
2,432
7,162
2,455
6,729
2,544
6,787
2,690
6,989
Community care
135
545
140
647
151
576
181
681
150
680
Debt
38
133
45
166
38
203
39
144
30
168
Employment
8
35
7
14
5
20
6
18
6
57
Housing
2,259
6,001
2,235
6,275
2,261
5,931
2,317
5,941
2,503
6,082
Welfare benefits
6
23
5
60
0
1
3
1
1
Low Volume
851
5,420
781
5,655
768
6,065
771
5,977
698
5,542
Actions against the police etc.
72
326
114
638
80
355
89
790
70
376
Clinical negligence
361
2,877
307
2,595
336
3,224
322
2,734
319
3,160
Consumer
27
98
26
207
27
192
27
585
14
68
Education
28
110
21
92
24
131
22
124
17
62
Personal injury
22
208
16
268
5
37
10
65
9
460
Public law
279
1,358
237
1,446
232
1,220
249
1,278
213
1,006
Miscellaneous
62
443
60
410
64
907
52
402
56
410
Tribunals
406
2,503
362
2,098
247
1,696
320
3,122
336
3,119
Immigration
306
883
277
891
169
401
207
697
246
871
Mental health
100
1,620
85
1,207
78
1,295
113
2,425
90
2,248

1 Data does not include cases completed in the LAA's new CCMS system, including these would raise completed volumes by an estimated 0.7% and total value by less than 0.5%.

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: high cost case split, outcome, benefit type, Judicial review split and if evidence for Child abuse or domestic violence was supplied

Volume and total value of the Civil Representation cases which have completed, Apr-Jun 2013 to Apr-Jun 2014 
Apr-Jun 2013
Jul-Sep 2013
Oct-Dec 2013
Jan-Mar 2014
Apr-Jun 2014
Civil representation
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Volume
Cost 
(£'000)
Total
917
       
28,599
   
1,015
    
36,098
   
954
        
26,878
   
1,131
     
37,931
   
1,098
     
32,545
   
Family
62
809
53
801
45
621
53
698
58
768
Combined family proceedings
4
18
5
156
1
2
10
144
2
7
Domestic violence
49
608
43
587
36
549
39
542
50
704
Financial provision
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Help with Mediation
2
66
1
19
1
10
2
10
0
0
Other family proceedings
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
19
Other public law Children Act proceedings
3
58
1
12
5
29
2
2
1
9
Private law Children Act proceedings
4
59
2
24
2
30
0
0
4
30
Special Children Act proceedings
303
3,326
339
2,963
374
3,466
422
3,990
391
4,166
Social Welfare
22
505
27
415
23
454
25
566
25
645
Community care
7
185
2
49
6
61
4
40
2
26
Debt
0
0
1
6
0
0
0
0
1
65
Employment
273
2,631
309
2,493
345
2,951
393
3,384
363
3,430
Housing
1
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Welfare benefits
452
23,835
506
31,174
384
21,164
509
31,648
534
26,690
Low Volume
124
2,912
117
2,476
88
2,421
111
2,491
111
2,877
Actions against the police etc.
231
17,742
284
23,800
213
16,326
306
25,993
220
20,112
Clinical negligence
9
164
11
245
11
183
10
72
9
124
Consumer
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Education
3
46
4
167
4
69
3
103
2
28
Personal injury
9
941
7
1,480
2
283
15
1,550
15
1,139
Public law
58
1,419
69
2,438
51
962
49
1,037
80
2,050
Miscellaneous
18
611
14
567
15
919
15
402
97
360
Tribunals
100
629
117
1,160
151
1,627
147
1,595
115
921
Immigration
98
616
115
1,148
149
1,607
146
1,585
115
921
Mental health
2
12
2
12
2
21
1
9
0
0

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: high cost case split, outcome and benefit type
 
Civil representation willingness test and mediation assessments, volume and value, 2006-07 to 2013-14, with quarterly data from Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014

Volume
Value (£ '000s)
Financial Year
Quarter
Willingness 
Tests Assessments 1
Assessment 
meeting - 
separate
Assessment 
meeting - 
together
Assessment 
meeting - 
alone
Assessment 
meeting - 
separate
Assessment 
meeting - 
together
Assessment 
meeting - 
alone
Willingness 
Tests
Assessment 
Expenditure
2006-07
48,419
22,758
33,923
5,796
7,784
1,742
2,754
          
602
              
657
             
4,014
           
2007-08
48,122
22,665
34,056
5,637
7,841
1,562
3,117
          
709
              
730
             
4,556
           
2008-09
52,272
24,152
38,546
4,879
8,061
1,512
3,885
          
733
              
815
             
5,433
           
2009-10
59,451
27,138
44,763
4,756
9,633
1,706
4,475
          
708
              
968
             
6,151
           
2010-11
60,441
26,387
44,446
4,164
10,882
1,771
4,530
          
631
              
1,115
          
6,277
           
2011-12
66,421
31,338
54,539
4,068
14,784
1,976
5,634
          
627
              
1,535
          
7,796
           
2012-13
64,783
30,668
54,572
3,382
18,144
1,931
5,648
          
525
              
1,882
          
8,054
           
2013-14
147
13,423
24,427
1,209
4,811
4
2,518
          
186
              
496
             
3,201
           
2011-12
Apr-Jun
17,006
7,769
13,273
1,132
3,556
506
1,371
          
174
              
370
             
1,915
           
Jul-Sep
17,516
8,221
14,253
1,094
3,942
521
1,471
          
169
              
410
             
2,050
           
Oct-Dec
15,485
7,365
12,869
930
3,442
461
1,329
          
143
              
357
             
1,830
           
Jan-Mar
16,414
7,984
14,144
912
3,844
489
1,463
          
141
              
398
             
2,002
           
2012-13
Apr-Jun
15,201
7,383
12,901
932
3,574
453
1,336
          
144
              
370
             
1,851
           
Jul-Sep
15,050
7,334
13,046
811
3,930
448
1,350
          
126
              
408
             
1,884
           
Oct-Dec
13,828
6,684
11,870
749
3,679
412
1,228
          
116
              
381
             
1,725
           
Jan-Mar
20,704
9,268
16,755
890
6,961
617
1,734
          
138
              
722
             
2,594
           
2013-14
Apr-Jun
88
3,965
7,192
369
1,542
3
743
             
57
                
160
             
960
             
Jul-Sep
9
3,355
6,086
312
1,201
0
628
             
48
                
124
             
799
             
Oct-Dec
3
2,869
5,156
291
900
0
531
             
45
                
93
               
669
             
Jan-Mar
47
3,234
5,993
237
1,168
1
616
             
36
                
120
             
773
             
2014-15
Apr-Jun
1
3,609
6,717
250
1,373
0
686
             
38
                
141
             
865
             

1 Figures for assessments include those with both parties in attendance and half of the attendance volume where both parties appear separately.



Civil representation mediation starts and mediation outcomes, volume and value, 2006-07 to 2013-14, with quarterly data from Apr-Jun 2011 to Apr-Jun 2014

| Volume      | Value (£ '000s)   |
|-------------|-------------------|
| Financial   |                   |
| Year        |                   |
| Quarter     |                   |
| Mediation   |                   |
| starts      |                   |
| Total       |                   |
| Agreements  |                   |
| Successful  |                   |
| Agreements  |                   |
| Full        |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| Partial     |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| No          |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| Full        |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| Partial     |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| No          |                   |
| Agreement   |                   |
| Expenditure |                   |
| 2006-07     | 13,918            |
| 2007-08     | 13,239            |
| 2008-09     | 13,537            |
| 2009-10     | 14,745            |
| 2010-11     | 14,186            |
| 2011-12     | 15,357            |
| 2012-13     | 13,609            |
| 2013-14     | 8,432             |
| 2011-12     | Apr-Jun           |
| Jul-Sep     | 4,025             |
| Oct-Dec     | 3,735             |
| Jan-Mar     | 3,816             |
| 2012-13     | Apr-Jun           |
| Jul-Sep     | 3,519             |
| Oct-Dec     | 3,242             |
| Jan-Mar     | 3,282             |
| 2013-14     | Apr-Jun           |
| Jul-Sep     | 2,092             |
| Oct-Dec     | 1,883             |
| Jan-Mar     | 1,751             |
| 2014-15     | Apr-Jun           |

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: detailed start type and agreement split 

## Table 8.1: Exceptional Case Funding (Ecf)

Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) statistics, from Apr-Jun 2013 to Apr-Jun 2014

Financial Year
Quarter
Number of 
applications
New 
applications
Reviews
Application 
made by 
provider
Application 
made by 
individual
Positive 
Preliminary 
View
Awaiting
Granted
Refused
Rejected
Withdrawn
2013-14
Apr-Jun
272
234
38
252
20
0
0
7
163
102
0
Jul-Sep
472
372
100
444
28
0
0
13
339
120
0
Oct-Dec
407
303
104
387
20
1
0
24
291
84
7
Jan-Mar
369
277
92
357
12
1
0
25
255
81
7
2014-15
Apr-Jun
270
209
61
258
12
0
5
37
180
45
3

Underlying data further breakdowns available on: duration in days and rejection reason 

## Annex A - Glossary Of Key Terms

Terms used in the report and tables are explained below. Advocates' Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS): The fee scheme which governs fees paid to advocates (barristers or solicitor advocates) who represent clients in criminal proceedings in the Crown Court, other than in cases which have been classified as very high cost (Criminal) cases. Payment is determined by proxy measures, the seniority of the advocate, offence type, pages of prosecution evidence, prosecution witnesses and days that the advocate spends at court at trial. 

Appeals (in the Crown Court): The Crown Court deals with appeals from magistrates' courts against conviction and sentence in the Magistrates Court or Youth Court, hospital or guardianship orders, failure to comply with a supervision order and failure to make a football banning order.  The Crown Court also has the power to alter a sentence or other order made by the Crown Court within 56 days of the date on which it was made. Category and areas of law: The LAA defines areas of law (education, housing etc) thematically and contracts for the provision of advice and representation based on the categories below (see below for Crime Higher, Crime Lower, Civil Family, Civil Social Welfare law, Civil Non-Family Low volume and Civil Tribunals) Civil: The area of law that concerns the rights and relations of private citizens - for example, disputes relating to unpaid debts or the enforcement/breach of contracts. Covers civil and family law but excludes criminal matters. 

## Civil Family Categories:

Family controlled work both private and public law (Civil Family) 
Children act - *private* (Civil Family): covers disputes about divorce, children issues (contact and residence), the separate representation of children where the court appoints it, and child abduction. 

Domestic Abuse (Civil Family): injunctions, committal orders, or other orders for protection of a person from harm or forced marriages. Unlike other applications there is no upper limit to a victim's income or capital (they may have to pay a contribution). 

Financial provision (Civil Family): ancillary relief i.e. money & property. There is a funding test for representation.  
Other (Civil Family): This area covers proceedings relating to defended divorce, nullity, civil partnership rights or applications under the Human Embryology Act.  
Children act - *public* (Civil Family): for children or parents in disputes with the state, particularly local authorities, on matters such as care proceedings and adoption. In care proceedings there is no means or merits test. 

Family Mediation (Civil Family): enables separating or divorcing couples to reach decisions about their arrangements together, using an independent third party mediator.  
Civil Low Volume: These differ from other Civil and family categories as need is thinly distributed within the population, and demand is greatly influenced by the location and advice provided by low volume providers. 

Actions against the Police (Civil Low Volume): help with claims against the police such as assault, entering the home, false imprisonment, wrongful arrest, interference with property, malicious prosecution or other abuses of police authority. 

Clinical Negligence (Civil Low Volume): help with claims for damages against all types of public and private medical practitioners, including doctors, nurses and dentists.  
Consumer and general contract (Civil Low Volume): enables clients to obtain advice and bring civil law actions regarding contracts and their enforcement (except where this falls into another category). 

Education (Civil Low Volume): legal help on problems to do with the education service, including failing to provide education e.g. special educational needs, exclusions, bullying and admissions. 

Personal Injury (Civil Low Volume): enables clients to take action for compensation if they have suffered an injury due to someone's negligence or deliberate action. Most personal injury cases have now been excluded from the scope of legal aid. Most new cases involve applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.  
Public Law (Civil Low Volume): civil liberties or human rights advice including advice on data protection, freedom of information issues and how to challenge the decisions of public bodies.  
Miscellaneous (Civil Low Volume): aimed at ensuring that meritorious cases can be brought and advice given for issues that do not fall within the scope. 

## Civil Social Welfare Law Categories:

Community Care (Civil Social Welfare): help for people who are unable to look after themselves because of age, illness or disability. May include obtaining or challenging an assessment for adequate services, challenging care home closures or contesting involuntary removal from home, by a local authority if deemed incapable of looking after yourself. 

Debt (Civil Social Welfare): personal debts, both priority (e.g. council tax, rent arrears) and non-priority (credit cards), rescheduling debts (e.g. negotiating payment plans with creditors), challenging the validity of debts (e.g. due to dormancy) and personal insolvency/bankruptcy/Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs). 

Employment (Civil Social Welfare): unfair and wrongful dismissal, redundancy, employment contract, discrimination, strike action, data protection and employee confidentiality, terms and conditions and wages issues. Legal aid is available for assistance prior to an Employment Tribunal (not for representation at the Tribunal). It is available for representation at an Employment Appeal Tribunal.  
Housing (Civil Social Welfare): help with issues arising out of where people live e.g. possession and eviction, disrepair, homelessness, allocation of housing, and other landlord and tenant issues.  It also includes anti-social behaviour work (e.g. a local authority taking action against a tenant).  
Welfare Benefits (Civil Social Welfare): covers receipt of and entitlement to benefits.  Work in this category includes: challenging benefit decisions (e.g. where a benefit has been refused), gaining benefits a client is entitled to, benefit fraud and overpayments. 

## Civil - Tribunals

Mental Health (Civil Tribunals): covers all work where the primary legal issue relates to mental health, particularly where this is covered by the Mental Health Acts of 1983 and 2007, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 

Immigration & Asylum (Civil Tribunals): covers legal help on anything to do with immigration into the UK, for example, questions relating to nationality or right to stay in this country or deportations. Also covers issues relating to asylum including representation before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and advice to appeal to higher courts. 

Civil Representation: Representation by solicitors and barristers for civil cases, which could go to court (also see Licensed work). Committal for sentence: Where, in the magistrates' court, an offender has been convicted of, or has pleaded guilty to, an either way offence, but the magistrates consider that the penalties available to them are inadequate having regard to the seriousness of the offence or combination of offences, they may commit the offender to the Crown Court for sentencing. Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC):  These were walk-in Community Legal Advice Centres providing free, generalized, face-to-face legal advice at an initial appointment and further specialized advice for people eligible for legal aid. Complex Crime Unit: The Complex Crime Unit manages all Very High Cost Cases under a criminal legal aid contract. Contracted Providers: The LAA contracts with solicitor firms and not for profit organisations to deliver face to face advice and assistance in both crime and civil, and to deliver advice over the telephone via Community Legal Advice (CLA) contracts. This includes contracted mediators who undertake mediation on behalf of legally aided clients. Controlled Work: Work under the civil contract that covers legal advice and assistance (Legal Help), help at court and legal representation in front of Mental Health Review Tribunals and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Court of Appeal and Supreme Court (Crime Higher): The appeal and higher courts deal with smaller volumes of caseload but are generally more complex with points of law and other unusual case work. Criminal Higher: Legal representation in the Crown Court and above. 

Crown Court (Crime Higher): typically solicitor prepares case for trial and barrister or solicitor advocate provides representation. 

Very High Cost Cases (Crime Higher): extensive evidence reviewed and case prepared by solicitor. Senior counsel (QC) often presents. 

Court of Appeal and Supreme Court (Crime Higher): The appeal and higher courts deal with smaller volumes of caseload but are generally more complex with points of law and other unusual case work. 

Criminal Lower: Work carried out by legal aid providers at police stations and in magistrates' courts in relation to people accused of or charged with criminal offences. Prison law is also included within this category. 

Magistrates' Court (Crime Lower): solicitor preparation for appearance or trial. 

Representation within the magistrates' court, often by a solicitor advocate or junior barrister. 

Police Station (Crime Lower): advice on rights and options pre-charge, in the station, in person by solicitor or outside the police station relating to precharge; or applications to extend detention. 

Prison Law (Crime Lower): advice for prisoners relating to their treatment or discipline in prison (e.g. parole hearings) and their progression through the prison system. 

Disbursements: Costs incurred by the provider that relate to expenses such as the cost of a travel, paying fees. For example, the payment of court fees, or paying other parties to undertake a service using experts' opinions. Domestic violence and child abuse cases: Information on these is available in the csv file.  These are applications submitted under Paragraphs 12 or 13 of Part 1, Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. ECF application: an ECF application for civil legal services is made where a case falls outside the scope of legal aid but the client or conducting solicitor believes there is evidence to support there being a requirement to provide funding because failure to do so would be a breach of, or having regard to any risk that failure to do so would be such a breach of, their Convention rights (within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998), or any rights of the individual to the provision of legal services that are enforceable EU rights. ECF determinations - this is the decision taken on an application by the LAA ECF 
Team.  Decision results are to either Positive Preliminary View, Grant, Refuse or Reject an application. ECF granted- an ECF application can only be granted if:the exceptional case criteria are met, and the relevant criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid  (Merits Criteria) Regulations are met, and the relevant criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations are met ECF new applications - this is the first application in relation to a particular set of proceedings.  
ECF positive preliminary view- this is only viable on ECF applications made directly by the client, prior to a full ECF Application being received in conjunction with a Legal Aid provider. ECF refuse - The application was assessed by the LAA ECF Team and the determination is to Refuse.  ECF criteria were not met, so the application is refused with details for refusal provided. ECF reject - The application was assessed by the LAA ECF Team and the determination is to Reject.  Either the application was in scope for a non exceptional legal aid application, or not enough information has been provided in the application to make a determination, so the application is rejected with details for rejection provided. ECF review applications - this relates to a request for an internal review of a determination previously made by the LAA ECF team. Either way offence: An offence which can be tried either before the magistrates' 
court or the Crown Court. The appropriate venue is determined at a Mode of Trial hearing at the magistrates' court. If the magistrates determine that the matter is too serious or complex for summary trial, they can commit it to the Crown Court. If the magistrates determine that the case is suitable for summary trial, the defendant can elect for trial by jury. Help at Court: Enables a solicitor or advisor to speak at a court or tribunal on an informal basis e.g. to argue that an order should not be enforced immediately. Indictable offence: A criminal offence that can only be tried in the Crown Court.  
Interests of justice test: The test is applied to criminal cases as part of the process to determine whether a client receives criminal legal aid. The provision of publicly funded representation is usually deemed to be in the interests of justice when the case is so serious that if the defendant is found guilty they are likely to face imprisonment, loss of livelihood or loss of reputation, where there are substantial questions of law to be argued, or the defendant is a minor, mentally handicapped, cannot speak English, or is otherwise incapable of following proceedings. Judicial review: Information on these are available in the csv file.  Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.  In other words, judicial reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached.  It is not really concerned with the conclusions of that process and whether those were 'right', as long as the right procedures have been followed. The court will not substitute what it thinks is the 'correct' decision. Legal Help: A form of civil legal services which includes advice and assistance about a legal problem, but does not include representation or advocacy in proceedings (also see Controlled work). Licensed Work: Work under the civil contract that covers all legal representation (representation by solicitors and barristers for civil cases which could go to court) except work covered by Controlled Work or VHCC, which are managed under separate contracts. 

Litigators' Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS): The fee scheme which governs fees paid to solicitors who represent clients in criminal proceedings in the Crown Court, other than in cases which have been classified as Very High Cost (Criminal) Cases. Payment is determined by proxy measures, the type of offence, pages of prosecution evidence, and number of days of trial. 

Means test: The process by which an assessment of clients' financial eligibility for public funding is made. Merits test: The aim of the merits test is to ensure that only cases with reasonable prospects of success receive legal aid. The test does this by seeking to replicate the decision making process that somebody who pays privately would make when deciding whether to bring, defend or continue to pursue proceedings. New matter starts: A matter refers to an instance of help given by a service provider to a legal aid client under Controlled Work and does not cover representation at court. Referral Providers: The LAA does not currently contract directly with referral providers such as barristers and experts. Whilst contracted providers will in most cases seek prior authority from the LAA for payment of barristers and experts, it is the contracted provider who chooses when to instruct a referral provider and which barrister or expert to instruct. Referral providers are paid for each piece of work either directly by the LAA in the case of barristers, or via the contracted providers in the case of experts. Very High Cost Cases (VHCC): extensive evidence reviewed and case prepared by solicitor. Senior counsel (QC) often presents.

## Annex B - Explanatory Notes

The statistics in this bulletin relate to work by the LAA in England and Wales between 1 April 2014 and 30 June 2014.  

## Uses Of The Statistics

These statistics can be used to understand and monitor changes in the volumes of different types of activity across the legal aid system, and the value of payments associated with that activity. Users of these statistics include departmental teams responsible for coordinating responses and requests to FOIs and PQs, Ministers and officials with responsibility for developing policy, parliament in providing scrutiny of legal aid policy, and providers and recipients of legal aid. 

## Official Statistics

This Statistical Release is published at 9.30am on a date which has been preannounced on the Ministry of Justice website (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-ofjustice/about/statistics#publication-schedule). A list of officials who have received pre-release access to this Statistical Release up to 24 hours in advance of publication is also available on the Ministry of Justice website alongside the Statistical Release itself (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics). 

## Next Publication

The date of the next release of Legal Aid Statistics Quarterly will be pre-announced on the Ministry of Justice website (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministryof-justice/about/statistics#publication-schedule).  

## Annex C - Contact Points For Further Information

Press enquiries on the contents of this bulletin should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: Andrew McGill Tel: 020 3334 3524 
Email: Andrew.McGill@justice.gsi.gov.uk Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: Richard Field, Head of Statistics Legal Aid Agency 7th Floor, 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ Tel: 020 3334 3453 statistics@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk 
 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be emailed to: statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from www.statistics.gov.uk 

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