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Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [HL]

I hope that the Minister will give serious consideration to what the noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis, has said. I would not wish to disguise from the Committee the fact that, like other Members, I have notes in this case from the people at the Council on Tribunals. Mine state: "““Council in favour of more publicly-funded advice, assistance and representation in tribunals, not necessarily provided by lawyers””—" says he with some nervousness in this particular gathering. It is often the case that advice bodies such as the citizens advice bureaux are more appropriate for the sort of advice or assistance that is needed. I would not want this provision confined to lawyers. The question is on adequate provision for those who clearly need some additional help in presenting their case. One of the few things that I and the Council on Tribunals differed from Andrew Leggatt on was his general assumption—not a universal, but a fairly wide assumption—that people could be expected always to present their own cases to tribunals. I am sure that that is true in many cases, with perhaps relatively modest assistance, but it depends much more on the person rather than the subject matter of the tribunal. There is need for flexibility here, which, I think, is what the noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis, is calling for.