Clause 188
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
8:45 pm

Simon Hughes (Party President, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)

The clause refers to the Compensation Act 2006, with which the Minister was heavily involved. She made commitments that the Bill would take up matters legislated for in the 2006 Act. In two sentences, will she describe for the record how that is being done? It would be helpful for people to know how one has been married to the other.

Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)

I hope that I can help. The idea behind the clause is that the integration of the 2006 Act and the Bill can be achieved only once the LSB and the OLC are fully established. If it is too early to make a decision about the claims management regulation system, that is because that system is itself only a few months old. Although it is working incredibly efficiently, we should give the regime time to bed in and assess its impact when we know how best to deliver that integration with the minimum disruption to the protection that consumers enjoy under the 2006 Act. I hope that that answers the hon. Gentleman’s question.

Simon Hughes (Party President, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)

It will at least point me the right direction.