Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse of (a) legal aid for asylum appeals and (b) the administrative costs associated with such appeals was in each year since 1997-98. [60579]

Mr Djanogly MP; Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State: It is not possible to answer the question in the format requested. Legal aid expenditure in asylum and immigration cases for 2003-04 onwards is shown in the following table. However it is not possible to disaggregate asylum from other immigration cases. The figures include representation in judicial reviews.

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not record centrally the administrative costs associated with immigration and asylum cases.