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Carter Review (Legal Aid)

I have heard what various hon. Members have said about increasing expenditure being down to volume increases. Obviously, there is some element of that, but it is not the whole explanation. Child care case costs, for example, rose 24 per cent. in real terms over the past five years. Private law children’s cases rose by 5.75 per cent. in real terms. Crown court cases expenditure rose 65 per cent. with little change in case volume. Although case volume has some part to play, it is not the whole explanation.