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Carter Review (Legal Aid)

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I intended to come on to the point that he makes, because it is slightly different. The impact on urban areas will be in the form of a very severe reduction in the number of suppliers. The problem in rural areas is that there are not enough suppliers now, and even a small reduction in rural areas, even if there is any possibility of a transfer of money from urban to rural areas in this process, means that many small towns are likely to end up in a situation in which if there is one supplier they will be lucky, and of course if there are two contending parties in a case or two defendants in a criminal case, that one supplier cannot meet the needs of both.