Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Henley (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 23 June 2009.

Legal Aid

Question: My Lords, I am interested to hear the noble Lord describe this as "a real consultation"; I imagine that the other consultations that his department has conducted were fakes. Who in the entire profession—whether it is the Bar Council, the Law Society or the Criminal Bar Association—supports the best value tendering scheme?

Answer: My Lords, not long ago the Conservative Party supported it; perhaps it will be good enough to tell us if it has changed its mind. As I said, we are consulting on the BVT scheme and we will find out whether it is workable and whether it is what we should be doing. I have to tell the House that the legal aid budget is limited and, at a time of recession, we need to spend more not less on social welfare law—that is, law that looks after those with debt needs, housing needs and employment needs. I hope that the House will accept that, while there is a lot of pressure on the fund, those are the areas in which you should not cut back.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 711 c1454
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Criminal proceedings Barristers Fees and charges Legal aid scheme Pay
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk