Clause 95
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
1:30 pm
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
There is no actual figure in my mind at present that would be appropriate. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there must be appropriate fines. However, fining is only one of the available tools; punishments such as suspending, revoking the licence, referring people to other regulators and disqualification from holding specific positions are also available. It will be for the authority to consider which of those is most appropriate in the circumstances of the case.
As the hon. Gentleman said, some organisations are far bigger than others, so the fines need to be appropriate in that respect, too. It brings to mind that to fine premiership footballers £5,000 a week is a drop in the ocean for most of them and does not make a great deal of difference to their subsequent behaviour. I therefore have some sympathy with the hon. Gentleman’s view that the fine must reflect the ability to pay.
This part of the Bill will not come into force until 2011 and between now and then we will look at benchmarks elsewhere and consult stakeholders, who include consumers, so I will not give a figure at the moment. I simply say that the hon. Gentleman is right: from the consumer’s point of view, justice has to be seen to be done, as well as being done. The perception that a person is being fined appropriately is crucial to the consumer’s confidence.