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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I should explain how strongly I support Amendments Nos. 3 and 13. It was the unanimous view of the Select Committee that amendments should be tabled, "““to ensure that the impact of ABSs on access to justice, particularly in rural areas, informs the decision-making process for licensing an ABS firm””." That is virtually the amendment that my noble friend Lord Kingsland has tabled. In their response, the Government said that they agreed with the committee, so I have been awaiting an amendment to implement our recommendation. Sadly, it did not arrive on the Marshalled List. The fact that it is here is due wholly to my noble friend, for which I am very grateful. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Neill of Bladen, on bringing forward an amendment that is the best of all those that he has tabled. It gives us a chance to have an in-depth look at this experiment, which I am sure the House would want us to do.