Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

I shall speak to Amendment 72 and make the case for legal aid in housing cases beyond those where someone faces imminent loss of their home. The private rented sector has no regulator, in stark contrast to the social housing sector, nor is there an ombudsman to consider complaints against private landlords as there is for complaints against housing associations and council landlords. There is a voluntary ombudsman scheme for complaints about managing and letting agents, and I declare my interest as chair of the independent council of the Property Ombudsman. However, that redress scheme—