Bermuda's bill for Legal Aid has been cut by more than 25 percent, it was revealed on Friday.

For the cost of representing people unable to pay for a lawyer fell by a massive $126,000 for the financial year ending in March compared to the previous year.

But the total bill was still $369,000 above the annual figure budgeted for the scheme.

The news came in a report by the Legal Aid Committee tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday.

The report said 187 applications for Legal Aid were granted in the year up to March -- less than half of the 514 applications granted the year before.

That means the average cost per case rose from around $1,930 to $4,648.

The report, prepared by Legal Aid Committee chairman Mr. Justice Ground, said the figures represented a "marked drop'' in the number of applications.

He said the appointment of a senior Legal Aid counsel to police the payments system may have contributed to the reduction.

Other factors, he said, could include increased prosperity and a falling crime rate.

But Mr. Justice Ground warned that applications were largely beyond the committee's control and the downward trend may not continue.

He added, however: "The committee now feels that it has the previous run-away situation with Legal Aid under tolerable control and it has been greatly assisted in this by the senior Legal Aid counsel.'' But he said -- because of the time taken in cases up to the payment stage -- it would take around a year for the reductions to impact on this year's overspend.

But Mr. Justice Ground said: "With the appointment of the senior Legal Aid counsel, I am now confident that the administration of Legal Aid has been put on a sound and proper footing.

"This is just beginning to show in the reductions in cost achieved in the year under review.'' He added: "The committee is exploring further ways in which proper savings can be achieved without diminishing the quality of representation provided.

"In all of this, it is striving to assist the greatest number of people in the most effective way within the constraints of its limited budget.''