Clause 14
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
2:45 pm
John Mann (PPS (Rt Hon Richard Caborn, Minister of State), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Bassetlaw, Labour)
I have two observations to make about the clause. The impersonating of a solicitor can lead to an individual being locked up and further increase the pressures on the prison community. Clearly, that is in order but, as for solicitors being disciplined, last year there were 743 matters against 1,094 individuals that had a disciplinary issue recorded against a solicitor and a further 495 matters involved 529 individuals that referred to other bodies, including the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Often, such matters do not need to be put in the public domain. For example, disapprovals, warnings, reprimands and severe reprimands can be kept private and confidential. The public—even the initial complainant who has provided information— need not be, and often is not, informed of that. Does the Minister consider that the issue needs to be looked at further even though the law is more than protecting the solicitor or other legal professional as it rightly does under the clause with appropriate strict measures? I commend her on that. We must also ensure that in a large number of cases—much more than has been suggested in Committee—such matters should be made public.
My second point concerns when the Government have acted as an employer through the Department of Trade and Industry in coal mining cases. There have been several examples when people have gone to those whom they believe to be solicitors and the Government have entertained cases being brought forward as ifon a common law basis, including more than 10,000 industrial deafness cases brought by a private company called Vendside Ltd. People often think that theyhave a solicitor representing them when they do not. Should not the Government look at their own practises that may be encouraging people whom some of my constituents, and many others, believe to be impersonating solicitors? That is apparent both in the hearing loss claims and in respect of claims handlers, who people are still coming to me about, believing them to be solicitors when they are not, who have been allowed to take cases to the Government under the coal mining claims handling agreement.