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1240/5(8238)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 1st APRIL 2014
Question
Will the Minister -
- provide a breakdown of the actual expenditure figures given in his answer to a question on 18th March 2014 on court and case costs (1240/5/(8205)) setting out the main expenditure items (budget headings) for the years 2003 and 2013 so that members can fully understand what the money was spent on and trends in expenditure;
- explain in detail the changes to legal aid, guardians in children's cases, reductions in external legal advice referred to in the previous answer?
Answer
- The level and breakdown of Court and Case Costs incurred is dependent on type and number of cases and will vary significantly between financial years. Court and Case Costs incurred between 2006 and 2013 under their budgetary headings as they appear in the Annual Financial Report and Accounts are as follow;-
Area of spend | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
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Staff Costs | 488 | 607 | 672 | 1,201 | 802 | 235 | 378 | 488 |
Supplies and Services | 2,567 | 7,667 | 7,698 | 10,682 | 11,636 | 7,850 | 7,289 | 6,718 |
Administrative Expenses | 99 | 107 | 186 | 299 | 201 | 742 | 205 | 288 |
Premises and Maintenance | 35 | 32 | 58 | 38 | 43 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
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Total | 3,188 | 8,412 | 8,614 | 12,220 | 12,682 | 8,826 | 7,898 | 7,520 |
Prior to 2006 Court and Case Costs were recorded and classified in a different way, and whilst it is possible to obtain the information from the accounting system, we would not be able to produce it in the deadline given. Should the Deputy wish to obtain this additional information, more time will be required.
- The changes to legal aid referred to in the previous answer relate to a fixed fee procurement process in which lawyers on the Public Law Children's Panel are invited to submit competitive fixed price bids. This has been in place since 2011 and has achieved a reduction in total expenditure by replacing the previous system in which lawyers were paid at a fixed hourly rate. Payments made to lawyers representing the parents in children's cases have mirrored the fixed fee payments and this, too, has achieved savings over previous methods of remuneration. Since 2012, significant savings have been achieved through appointing more local Guardians and greater standardisation of fees and expenses for external or non-local Guardians. The significant reductions in expenditure from Court and Case Costs in the years 2011 to 2013 from the amounts expended in 2009 and 2010 demonstrate that far more Children's and Criminal work has been delivered internally and that other expenditure on external legal advice has been monitored and controlled more effectively.