---

Dept for Constitutional Affairs

Answer

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the total cost to public funds of providing legal advice, assistance and support in relation to planning applications and appeals in respect of Traveller encampments was in the last period for which figures are available; [216647] (2) in how many legal cases no longer before the courts and involving a Traveller or a group of Travellers appealing against a decision by a local planning authority the Community Law Partnership has given advice. [219514] Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the eligibility requirements for legal aid are for (a) Travellers and (b) home owners; [219917] (2) what support the Legal Services Commission (LSC) provides to Travellers; and how much the LSC has spent on such support in each of the last five years; [219918] (3) how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department deal with issues relating to Travellers; [219949] (4) pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1296W, whether the Travellers' legal helpline provides advice in relation to (a) eviction actions and (b) planning enforcement actions; [220172] (5) pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1296W, on Traveller sites, when the Government began funding the Community Law Partnership to provide legal support to Travellers; and how much funding was provided in each year. [220187] Mr. Lammy: It is not possible to identify individual grants of legal aid to Gypsies and Travellers in some categories of law because we do not collect information to indicate whether clients are from these ethnic groups or follow any particular lifestyle. The Community Law Partnership has held a contract with the LSC to provide publicly funded services since January 2000. It has held a contract with the LSC since April 2002 to provide telephone advice to Gypsies and Travellers on housing matters, including eviction and planning enforcement actions. Its grants have been as follows. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. £ April 2002-March 2003 131,675 April 2003-March 2004 131,675 April 2004-March 2005 50,000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. In addition, Legal Help, which provides for basic advice and assistance on questions of English law including, planning applications and appeals, is available subject to satisfying the statutory tests of the applicant's means and the merits of the case. The LSC does not hold data on how much Legal Help is awarded to Gypsies and Travellers. Legal Representation at planning applications and appeals is generally outside the scope of legal aid. However, since April 2000, funding can be made available in exceptional cases under section 6(8)(b) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, when the relevant criteria are satisfied, for example, where the case concerns the applicant's home. This protects the applicant's fundamental rights and ensures a fair hearing. It is not possible to give a precise figure for total costs but, since April 2000, a maximum of £45,000 plus VAT (excluding Legal Help costs) has been spent on planning applications in relation to Traveller encampments. The costs over the last five years break down as follows. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. £ April 2001-March 2002 14,600 plus VAT April 2002-March 2003 7,000 plus VAT April 2003-March 2004 0 April 2004-March 2005 23,644 plus VAT _________________________________________________________________________________________________. According to our records, legal aid has been granted to the Community Law Partnership for representation in 16 such cases. We do not know whether all these cases have concluded. The Ormiston Children and Families Trust and the Fenland Citizens Advice Bureau has received a Partnership Initiative Budget grant to pilot the provision of information and advice services on social welfare law specifically to Gypsies and Travellers in Cambridgeshire. LSC funding amounted to £5,050 in 2003-04 and £17,200 so far in 2004-05. The eligibility criteria for legal aid for Gypsies and Travellers are the same as for other individuals in England and Wales. Allowances are given within the financial eligibility tests for civil legal aid to disregard equity held in a homeowner's principal home up to a limit of £100,000, in addition to payments for a mortgage of up to £100,000. No member of staff at the Department for Constitutional Affairs deals solely with issues relating to Travellers.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

431 c1746-7W;431 c1742-3W; 219917;219918;219949;220172;220187

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Caravan sites Civil servants Finance Enforcement Legal aid scheme Eligibility Expenditure Legal Services Commission Legal opinion Evictions Staff Owner occupation Telephone services Travellers Department for Constitutional Affairs Community Law Partnership

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk