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Carter Review (Legal Aid)

It is a pleasure to stand here again to talk about an issue on which I introduced a debate with the previous Minister just last month. Unlike the Minister here and many other hon. Members, I am not a lawyer or an expert on the intricacies of legal aid. My interest in the matter began when I was contacted by constituents who work for criminal legal aid practices in Hull. They told me that, like so many others around the country, they were desperately worried about the Carter proposals and their impact on businesses and, more importantly, on the vulnerable clients with whom they deal daily. I promised to look into the proposals and to question the Government on their behalf. That culminated in the debate on 12 June, and I wish to return to several of the points raised in that debate, because my constituents were not happy with the then Minister’s response. I congratulate the new Minister on her post and I understand that she has been a legal aid solicitor, which is extremely welcome. I hope that she will have a better understanding of the matter than her predecessor. It seems that the bigger the error made by Ministers, the higher the office that immediately results.