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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My name is attached to this amendment. Of course, we support the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, who has said everything that needs to be said. I look for an explanation why this historic exemption should continue to apply in a period when the regulatory regime has so much altered from what it used to be. I understand that there was a time when government lawyers might not be required to be members of the Law Society, or matters of that sort. But surely today, when they are subject to regulation, they should pay the same price as everybody else. If it is just a matter of cost—if it is just a Treasury matter—that would be a disgraceful explanation.