Dear Ministry of Justice,

Please provide the following information in relation to criminal and civil legal aid providers in New Zealand:

1. The number of providers with approval to accept only Criminal provider approval level 1 assignments as a lead provider (not including limited approvals) for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
2. How many of those providers with only that approval level accepted more than five assignments in total for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
3. The number of providers with approval to accept both Criminal provider approval level 1 and 2 assignments as a lead provider (not including limited approvals) for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
4. How many of those providers with those approval levels accepted more than five assignments at either level in total for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
5. The number of providers with approval to accept Criminal provider approval level 1, 2, and 3 assignments as a lead provider (not including limited approvals) for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
6. How many of those providers with all of those approval levels accepted more than five assignments in total at any of those levels for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
7. The number of providers with approval to accept Criminal provider approval level 1, 2, 3, and 4 assignments as a lead provider (not including limited approvals) for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
8. How many of those providers with all of those approval levels accepted more than 5 assignments in total at any of those levels for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
9. How many criminal legal aid providers had PDLA approval for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
10. How many providers were on the PDLA roster for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
11. The number of providers with approval to accept Court of Appeal and Supreme Court assignments as a lead provider (not including limited approvals) for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
12. How many of those providers with that approval accepted more than 2 assignments for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
13. How many providers were approved for the PDLA scheme in each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
14. How many criminal legal aid providers were actually on the PDLA roster to receive calls for each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
15. How many Civil legal aid providers (not including employment) were there for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
16. How many of those Civil legal aid providers received more than three assignments in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Yours faithfully,

I Brown

Dear correspondence, official,

Thank you very much for your request for clarification questions. I reply as follows:

For questions 1 – 16, do you want the data for the calendar or financial year?

Reply: If possible, the 1 July-30 June year as used for the payments and grants data. Otherwise at your convenience.

For questions 10 & 14, PDLA rosters only operate in Northland, Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. Is the request about the PDLA list instead?

Reply: Yes, thank you.

For question 15, are you wanting the data to exclude civil providers who only do employment work, including advocates?

Reply: Yes, that is correct.

Is the data requested for private providers only, excluding the Public Defence Service?

Reply: That was my intention. However, you raise a good point. Please provide separately the numbers of PDS lawyers at the various PAL approvals for the requested years.

Questions 9 & 13 are very similar, can you clarify the difference between these questions?

Reply:. My apologies, you are correct. I appear to have doubled-up. Please consider them to be one question, unless the answers differ substantively.

For question 9, are you wanting to include providers that hold any PAL level and a PDLA approval?

Reply: Yes, please.

For question 13, are you wanting to include any provider that has a PDLA approval regardless of any other approvals held or not?

Reply: I wasn’t aware that there are providers that hold PDLA approval but do not hold any other approval. Please add that category to my request.

Questions 10 & 14 are very similar, can you clarify the difference between these questions?

Reply: Again, my apologies for a double-up. Please consider them to be one question, unless the answers differ substantively.

Yours sincerely,

I Brown

Dear Sir/Madam,

Can I please have an update on when I am likely to receive this information?

Yours sincerely,

I Brown

Dear Annie May,

This request was made on 19 August. On 15 November you wrote that the information was being finalised. That was three weeks ago, with no further update. Please provide the requested information as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

I Brown