Written question asked by Gordon Marsden (Labour) on Wednesday, 14 April 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 April 2004. It was answered by David Lammy (Labour) on Thursday, 22 April 2004 on behalf of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Dept for Constitutional Affairs

Question: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of current legal aid arrangements for (a) patients and (b) patients' families in dispute with NHS trusts; what assessment he has made of the case for extending the provision of free legal advice for (a) patients and (b) patients' families involved in formal complaints against NHS trusts.

Answer: Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of current legal aid arrangements for (a) patients and (b) patients' families in dispute with NHS trusts; [166690] (2) what assessment he has made of the case for extending the provision of free legal advice for (a) patients and (b) patients' families involved in formal complaints against NHS trusts. [166691] Mr. Lammy: Legal aid is available for clinical negligence claims, provided that the means and merits tests are passed. We are currently reviewing the present arrangements, and we will be making an announcement on the way forward shortly.

Secondary information