Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, these Benches fully support the amendments moved by the noble Lords, Lord Kingsland and Lord Neill of Bladen. From the very beginning of the Bill, I have expressed my opposition to the alternative business structure, drawing, as I do, upon my experience in a small high street firm of solicitors for some five or six years in my youth and my knowledge of these firms while practising at the Bar ever since. The Government may try to portray the stance of lawyers who believe in the small firm as reactionary, conservative or in their own private interests. That is not the case. Over the decades there has been strong competition between local firms for business. They compete with each other in terms of cost and fees,in efficiency and in providing a service to the communities from which they spring. All that is undermined by the Government’s approach here that we introduce marketing forces; that price is the only thing that matters; and the fact than there may be conflicts of interests within large concerns, whether insurance companies, motoring services of whatever, which can be ignored. We do not believe that that is the right approach. The public are better served by lawyers, who are absolutely independent and who stand against the legislation that may be put forward or government departments where people are seeking to secure their rights to social security, and so on. We are very much concerned that alternative business structures will see this service disappear to be replaced by something that is very much less of utility to the people of this country. I am amazed that this comes from a so-called Labour Government. I am reminded they are new Labour. That is even worse. It is astonishing that it should come from that source. Perhaps it is not so astonishing because I have commented on the authoritarian streak of this Government. The lawyer stands independent of government to protect the citizen. This Bill, with its suggestion of alternative business structures, without any examination of whether it is necessary or appropriate in a particular area, such as my own area in north-east Wales, undermines the principle of access to justice.