Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost incurred by the Legal Aid Agency was for means-testing applications for grants of exceptional funding in relation to representation at inquests before Coroners' Courts in (a) each year since 2013 (b) 2019 to date.

The means of applicants for Exceptional Case Funding are tested in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, which apply to all applications for civil legal aid.

As such, it is not possible to ascribe a figure to the cost of assessing financial eligibility in ECF matters specifically, as this is not conducted under a separate process within the Legal Aid Agency.