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Criminal Defence Service Bill [Lords]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point, which I was coming to, about access to justice and the quality of justice, support, advice and guidance that is received by the beneficiaries of legal aid. There is still a much wider debate to be had on the future of legal aid and legal services, which falls outside the scope of today’s debate. Clearly, we need to ensure that legal support is there where it is needed and that where it is needed, it is robust and of sufficient quality to ensure that those individuals are properly represented. I agree with the hon. Gentleman, who also sits with me on the Constitutional Affairs Committee. I suspect that we in that Committee will continue to monitor this in the months and years ahead. We need to monitor the impact of these provisions. I understand that they will be introduced in magistrates courts first and the Crown court thereafter. Obviously, the Minister will closely monitor the impact of that, particularly where offences can be tried in either court, and whether people elect to go down the Crown court route because of the flexibility that might remain there following the introduction of these provisions. There have been interesting comments about the reasons for the growth in the budget. The hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) highlighted the fact that we have seen an increasing number of offences on the statute book. Clearly, changes to sentencing guidelines have had some impact, in terms of the greater risk of imprisonment, giving rise to demands and needs for access to justice and fair justice, ensuring that people are properly represented. We must not forget the argument about the inequality of arms. We cannot have people feeling intimidated or threatened by the power of the state seeking to impose criminal penalties, and the fact that they cannot be adequately represented or defend themselves. I remain struck by the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate when he moved his new clause in an attempt to ensure that the less advantaged and perhaps people with mental health problems are not disadvantaged by the Bill. I urge the Minister to monitor this closely to ensure that people from less advantaged backgrounds, people who are illiterate or people with a disability are not prevented from gaining access to justice. I am sure that that is not the intent of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. I ask the Minister to keep this under review and ensure that the fairness that is the hallmark of our justice system remains. I am pleased that there has been some movement—particularly in another place—on the clarification of appeal rights; such clarification has been an important part of this legislation’s development. We must make it clear that there is a separate means of ensuring that, where necessary, the Legal Services Commission’s decisions are scrutinised in court. We will need to monitor the system’s operation and performance in order to establish how many of the LSC’s decisions are successfully appealed. If many are, that would tend to suggest that there are problems with the system’s administration, and with the way in which decisions are being determined. Last July, the Constitutional Affairs Committee’s report on the Bill stated:"““Legal aid plays a vital role in ensuring that those who cannot afford their own defence costs can still obtain legal representation. It also protects against unfair trials and ‘inequality of arms’ between the defendant and the prosecution and makes it easier to protect defendants’ rights.””" They must be the underlying principles driving the changes being implemented today. I welcome the Bill, but I hope that it will continue to be scrutinised as it completes its legislative passage, that the aims and objectives effectively summarised by the Constitutional Affairs Committee are put into practice, and that we have a strong and robust system that continues to deliver high-quality, effective and cost-effective justice. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time, and passed, with an amendment.