Urgent changes are needed in the administration of the Legal Aid scheme, according to a report submitted to Parliament on Friday.

Legal Aid Committee chairman Puisne Judge Mr. Justice Ground said a "truly dramatic rise'' in the number of legal aid applications over a short time span had been more than the system could bear.

"In particular, the existing requirement that the committee take all decisions relating to Legal Aid imposes an intractable burden on that body, while the sheer volume of work inevitably overwhelms the secretary,'' he said in the committee's annual report.

"Management Services has formulated a series of options for dealing with the problem, and I endorse their recommendations,'' Mr. Justice Ground said in the committee's report for 1994-95, which was dated July 10.

"I consider that their implementation will ensure increased control over expenditure, better value for money by Government, and a better service for the public.'' What those recommendations were was not disclosed. But in the 1993-94 annual report, which was also tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, then chairman Mr. Ken Brown called for appointment of an executive to supplement the secretary, provision of adequate office space, and "providing for a system where in most cases the fee paid for work done is fixed in advance.'' In the most recent report, Mr. Justice Ground said the problems identified in Mr. Brown's report remained, but "the urgency is much increased,'' because the number of applications had jumped another 25 percent.

There were 923 legal aid applications in 1994-95, of which 588 were granted and 335 were declined. That compared to 738 applications in 1993-94, of which 549 were granted and 189 were declined.

As recently as 1988-89, there were only 368 applications, of which 220 were granted and 148 were declined.

Mr. Justice Ground said a large rise in the last year in applications related to criminal and matrimonial matters was partly offset by a dip in applications for ordinary civil cases.

Faced with increased applications and limited funds, "the committee has necessarily been increasingly rigorous in the exercise of its discretion in non-mandatory cases, and this is reflected in the increase in the number of applications which were refused'', he said.

"The alternative would have been an equally sharp rise in the cost of the scheme.'' For the year ended March 31, 1995, the scheme paid out $661,185.54 in counsel's fees, exceeding the original appropriation from the legislature of $448,000.

That compared with $627,673 paid out a year earlier.

Mr. Justice Ground said the secretary's office was relocated to the Magistrates' Court building in June of 1994, but "the accommodation there is cramped, and it is recognised that it is inadequate''.

The scheme was established in 1980 to assure eligible applicants receive Legal Aid largely free of charge.

In November, Health and Social Services Minister Harry Soares vowed to fight delays in paying lawyers' Legal Aid bills after one lawyer filed a Supreme Court writ for money he claimed was owed him and another threatened to sue.