Legal Services Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
John Mann (PPS (Rt Hon Richard Caborn, Minister of State), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Bassetlaw, Labour)
Mr. Cook, may I welcome you to the Chair? The timing could also be affected if the principles of the Nolan Committee are ruthlessly enforced, debarring members of the Bar Council or the Law Society or anyone who is a legal executive from moving a specific amendment or participating in a vote that specifically impacts on their organisation. I do not ask for a rule at this stage. I ask for the matter to be considered by your good self, Mr. Cook, and your co-Chair.
There is a precedent for that. On two occasions, members on a Committee considering transport matters were asked to leave and not to participate. That is not my interpretation of the Nolan guidance, but it is one that has been used in the past. It is important that there is clarity in respect of legislation going through the House, because some of the amendments that are being moved are specifically related to professional bodies. If an individual is a member of a professional body—for example, the Bar Council—they could directly benefit from the consequences of that amendment.
The issue for contemplation is whether we interpret the Nolan principles as requiring merely that one declares one’s interest and then fully participates, which I would be totally happy with as a principle, although that impacts on other Bills as well, or we debar that ability to initiate legislation, which has been defined in the past as moving and voting on specific amendments on a Bill