Clause 3
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
6:30 pm
Simon Hughes (Party President, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)
I have put my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Yardley to the main amendment, although not to the second amendment. In the Lords, there was a long and rather amusing debate about whether letters had gone astray, and what had happened to them. I read the Minister’s wonderful response, but I was not absolutely persuaded that it dealt with the point, so I thought it was worth bringing the matter back.
The concern is simply that we should not say, “Here are the objectives. You ought to follow them, but you do not have to if it is not practical.” We should have a structure that is firm and not qualified, and the amendment seeks to remove the qualification.