DCA spending nears £4bn in body's final accounts

Government spending through the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) hit £3.67bn in its last year of existence, the now-defunct body's annual accounts reveal. The figure, which marks a 2.6% increase on spending during 2005-06, comes in addition to DCA grants of £21.8bn and £11.7bn to Scotland and Wales respectively to fund the devolution process in the two countries.

August 16, 2007 at 09:06 AM

2 minute read

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";}

Government spending through the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) hit £3.67bn in its last year of existence, the now-defunct body's annual accounts reveal.

The figure, which marks a 2.6% increase on spending during 2005-06, comes in addition to DCA grants of £21.8bn and £11.7bn to Scotland and Wales respectively to fund the devolution process in the two countries.

According to the DCA's resource accounts for the year ending 31 March, 2007, unveiled this month, the department shelled out £352,000 in legal aid payments to a law firm run by the sister of DCA minister Harriet Harman.

Harman & Harman Solicitors, where Harman's sister Sarah is senior partner, raked in the fees during 2006-07, while Denniss Matthews Solicitors, where another of her sisters is head of the family law practice, received £46,110.

According to the accounts, southeast firm Cripps Harries Hall was paid £129,902 for legal services. Janet Higbee, another sister of Harman, is a professional support lawyer at the firm.

Meanwhile, the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, took home a salary of £103,108 last year while parliamentary under secretary Baroness Ashton of Upholland and Harriet Harman earned £104,932 and £39,405 respectively.

Those salaries were part of the department's total wage bill of £622m, a marginal increase from £619m during 2005-06. The DCA, which was dismantled ahead of the launch of the controversial new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in May, employed 25,237 permanent staff during 2006-07.

Administrative costs for its headquarters and associated offices last year stood at £324m, with £95m of that spent on the tribunals services, re-launched last year, with a further £37m channelled through the courts service. The department also spent £838,000 on a full audit of its financial performance during 2006-07.