To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2013, Official Report, column 127W, on squatting, what the cost to the public purse has been of hearings in relation to the case of a constituent of the hon. Member for Workington (Sir Tony Cunningham), Gary Tomlinson, Claim Number OWH00080, Cert Number JBIRQK61BB77/A/E/1; for what reasons legal aid funding in relation to this case was withdrawn; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report in relation to that withdrawal decision.
The overall cost to the public purse of hearings in relation the case of Gary Tomlinson cannot be provided.
The cost to HM Courts and Tribunals Service of the hearings involved in this case would require an estimate of the of the judicial time spent on each of the hearings, and the time of each member of staff spent on administrating those hearings. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The receipt of legal aid is considered to be personal data and the Department has certain obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 which would prevent it from disclosing this type of information. Furthermore, the LAA is further prohibited by statute from disclosing information relating to the provision of legal aid in individual cases (under section 34 of the LASPO Act 2012, section 20 of the Access to Justice Act 1999, and before this under section 38 of the Legal Aid Act 1988).
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