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Legal Aid

But that does not follow in the slightest. Solicitors who enter the bidding process and bid at a price that returns them a profit—that is exactly what they will do—will be in a much better position than if they were on the receiving end of an estimate produced by the LSC on the basis of historical claims. It is much better that they reveal their costs and make a bid that will accommodate those costs and produce a profit. It is a much more sensible way of proceeding. I am talking about crime, but my hon. Friend may not be. However, one third of London advisers in civil law—perhaps that is the kind of work that he is concerned about—already deliver advice at below the proposed fixed-fee levels. The fixed-fee system is intended to drive efficiencies, and such advisers have already gone a long way. It is much better to allow solicitors to bid than to get the LSC to second-guess.