Spending has been about R13m (about £550,000) a year, except for 2011/12 when it was higher and 2012/13 when the costs were about 50 per cent more, at R13m (£800,000). The expenditure details were given in an answer from premier Helen Zille in response to questions from ANC leader Lynne Brown. The premier also pointed to media reports which say that the Eastern Cape spent about four times as much as the Western Cape in 2012/13. She also said that only three per cent  of requests for legal advice were outsourced. But Ms Brown accused the administration of 'running government through law firms', adding: 'If the long list of legal matters provided during the response constitutes only three per cent of outsourced work, then I shudder to think what the 97 perc ent done in-house entails.' Source: IOL News