Legal aid data

Crime higher

Information is provided on legal representation in the Crown Court and above. This includes, Crown Court cases (typically solicitor prepares case for trial and barrister or solicitor advocate provides representation), Very High Cost Cases (extensive evidence reviewed and case prepared by solicitor where the senior counsel (QC) often presents).

See Legal aid statistics quarterly for further information.

Higher courts volume of completed cases and claims

Volume of completed cases and claims

Show as: chart | table

Period	Higher courts volume of completed cases and claims
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	7,363
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	7,142
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	5,891
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	5,704
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	5,778
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	5,643
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	5,219
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	4,382
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	4,089
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	3,611
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	4,870
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	3,872
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	4,049
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	2,614
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	4,468

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 4,468

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS)

Volume of completed cases and claims

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Period	Litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS)
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	153
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	73,720
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	126,143
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	130,459
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	132,570
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	123,120
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	111,927
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	115,594
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	109,247
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	101,400
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	94,896
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	88,359
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	82,042
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	68,267
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	79,467

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 79,467

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS)

Volume of completed cases and claims

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Period	Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS)
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	2,325
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	114,873
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	121,398
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	119,904
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	112,965
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	110,970
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	103,760
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	97,644
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	86,091
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	82,467
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	65,534
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	74,619

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 74,619

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Very high cost crime

Cases heard in Crown Court. Mainly covers complex fraud since trial length extended to 60 days.

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Period	Very high cost crime
Apr 2006 to Mar 2007	517
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	471
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	486
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	362
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	541
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	314
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	242
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	250
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	139
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	64
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	58
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	33
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	29
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	8
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	4
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	7

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 7

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Total higher courts value (£'000)

Total higher courts value

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Period	Total higher courts value (£'000)
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	11,964
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	10,879
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	11,416
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	9,792
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	8,738
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	8,491
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	7,491
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	8,245
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	7,235
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	6,685
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	9,543
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	8,298
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	8,276
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	6,123
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	8,083

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 8,083

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS) value (£'000)

Litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS) value

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Period	Litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS) value (£'000)
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	32
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	77,072
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	261,307
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	302,949
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	335,407
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	311,813
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	291,204
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	311,832
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	341,132
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	337,060
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	363,970
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	388,467
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	356,969
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	210,329
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	307,130

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 307,130

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) value (£'000)

Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) value

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Period	Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) value (£'000)
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	2,697
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	219,949
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	241,429
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	226,933
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	213,138
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	226,930
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	227,007
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	219,182
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	218,930
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	208,257
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	132,514
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	203,573

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 203,573

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Very high cost crime value (£'000)

Very high cost crime value

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Period	Very high cost crime value (£'000)
Apr 2006 to Mar 2007	96,633
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	100,252
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	125,952
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	88,319
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	118,609
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	80,005
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	60,837
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	63,034
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	53,218
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	31,533
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	23,856
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	21,561
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	13,795
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	2,955
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	3,983
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	3,803

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 3,803

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Litigator legacy (pre 2008) & discretionary

Volume of completed cases and claims

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Period	Litigator legacy (pre 2008) & discretionary
Apr 2005 to Mar 2006	92,731
Apr 2006 to Mar 2007	94,120
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	96,603
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	35,836
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	4,716
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	3,700
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	3,960
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	5,768
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	5,759
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	5,658
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	5,082
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	5,411
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	4,632
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	4,446
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	4,348
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	3,159
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	2,781

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 2,781

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Advocate legacy (pre 2005) & discretionary

Volume of completed cases and claims

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Period	Advocate legacy (pre 2005) & discretionary
Apr 2005 to Mar 2006	12,209
Apr 2006 to Mar 2007	9,232
Apr 2007 to Mar 2008	4,814
Apr 2008 to Mar 2009	1,167
Apr 2009 to Mar 2010	1,132
Apr 2010 to Mar 2011	2,500
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	2,500
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	2,071
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	2,160
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	1,785
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	1,643
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	1,387
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	1,742
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	1,528
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	1,555
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	1,109
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	1,039

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 1,039

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.

Total legal aid expenditure - crime higher (£'000)

Total expenditure (£'000) for crime hower

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Period	Total legal aid expenditure - crime higher (£'000)
Apr 2011 to Mar 2012	662,569
Apr 2012 to Mar 2013	638,830
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014	605,845
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015	601,151
Apr 2015 to Mar 2016	618,993
Apr 2016 to Mar 2017	606,777
Apr 2017 to Mar 2018	624,314
Apr 2018 to Mar 2019	639,158
Apr 2019 to Mar 2020	586,174
Apr 2020 to Mar 2021	361,107
Apr 2021 to Mar 2022	530,227

Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 530,227

Data source Legal aid statistics (quarterly)

Published: 15 December 2022. Next publication: 30 March 2023 9:30am.