Compensation Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend is right. However, a disparity exists. Some of the solicitors who charged have provided a good service compared with others, and some solicitors who did not charge have provided a bad service. We are therefore considering quality to ascertain if, for example, a services claim has been included. Some of my constituents are taking negligence cases against solicitors and winning significant sums of money from appalling solicitors. Sometimes one finds a direct correlation between bad service and solicitors who charge. We have found that, when a firm of solicitors, the UDM or Vendside Ltd have handled many claims, the average settlement is well below that of the better companies. There is no good explanation for a significant variation in the average settlement when considering a large number of claims. If the number was small, statistical oddities might skew matters, thus making the sample statistically unreliable. However, in the case of tens of thousands of claims, it is straightforward and valid to make comparisons. Some firms have been taking money and performing poorly, though others have performed well and still wrongly taken money.