Clause 20 - Financial resources

Part of Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:45 pm on 8 September 2011.

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Photo of Andrew Slaughter Andrew Slaughter Shadow Minister (Justice) 3:45, 8 September 2011

It is understandable that regulations need to be made with respect to eligibility, and I do not want to make a point on that, but it means that we do not have clear guidance on where the Government are going, other than what was in the consultation documents and the amendments to one or two of the more outlandish proposals on contributions. Those suggested—I think the phrase that the Government used was “skin in the game”—a wilful desire for people, whatever their income or hardship levels, to make some investment as a principle more than as a financial contribution. That certainly was a departure. I hope that the Government will not persist with that attitude, as it brings a completely new element into the purpose of legal aid.

We do not have a clear Government strategy; we have only what was in the consultation paper and what the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd has referred to. However, we know that the Government are looking everywhere for money and take a cavalier attitude to the provision of legal aid, whether through scope or eligibility. For that reason, it would be appropriate to have some restraint on the powers of the Lord Chancellor. To anticipate the Minister’s point, that might not have been appropriate in previous Acts. I take what the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd says: the amendments are probing in nature, and they have been designed to show the sorts of levels that may be acceptable at the moment. However, they would at least give the Minister an opportunity to indicate where the Government are going on eligibility and how they intend to deal with those matters in the future.