Clause 1 - Extent of duty to fund advice and assistance
Criminal Defence Service (Advice and Assistance) Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough, Conservative)
The Minister is right to say that the Bill has the general support of the official Opposition. That is not because we admire what the Government have done, as the Bill could more properly be described as the ``Access to Justice (Cock-up) (No. 1) Bill''. The Minister and his colleague in the House of Lords admitted to the error. I am not sure whether it is the duty of the Opposition to point out the Government's incompetence; none the less, it is there for all to see, hence the Bill. I shall do nothing to inhibit its passage, as its overall intention is to correct a removal of access to justice. I will do all in my power to achieve that correction.
I ask the Minister to answer several questions that arise from the Bill and the Access to Justice Act, which it seeks to correct. How many solicitors or firms of solicitors have so far signed the contracts of the Lord Chancellor's Department for the provision of advice and representation in criminal cases? As the Minister will know, the Law Society is in a state of war with the Department about the contracts, which are required to be signed if the criminal defence service, in its wider sense, is to come into existence effectively. Finally, how many lawyers will the salaried defender service employ and when will they begin work, and what is likely to be the overall annual cost of its establishment?