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Legal Services Bill [HL]

I am of course most grateful to the Minister for her explanation, but I do not understand why the logic that she applies to the existence of an exemption for solicitors does not apply to barristers as well. To the extent that a barrister works in the public sector—and if all the considerations that the Minister said applied to public sector lawyers are cogent and accepted—why on Earth are barristers also not exempt? There is nothing to prevent the Minister introducing an amendment to enable barristers to be exempt, as well as solicitors. I take the point about the excellent training schemes that there are in government; but surely they apply equally to barristers as well as solicitors. So the logic of exemption—to the extent that it is sound—should apply to both professions.