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Proceeding contribution from Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 29 June 2011. It occurred during Debate on bill on Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.


Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Yes I do, and I was just coming to that as my final point. First, just let me complete my earlier point by saying that the absence of qualified one-way cost-shifting leaves an imbalance in the implementation of the Jackson proposals. It is not even clear from the Bill precisely what the Government are doing. Finally, let me address what I, too, have described as the scandal of referral fees under which insurance companies and some other bodies, such as trade unions, make money from selling the details and claims of the victims of accidents. It will not be enough merely to ban referral fees, because the Government and the industry must deal with a system of fees that has a fundamental fault. If there is a system of fees in which a lawyer can still make a profit from a relatively small claim having paid hundreds of pounds for the privilege of pursuing that claim, then we have to address the fixed costs as well as the referral fees.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
530 c1004 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Compensation Crime prevention Courts Bail Administration of justice Criminal law Alternatives to prison Employment Legal aid scheme Domestic abuse Drugs Insurance companies Legal costs Legal opinion Family law Knives Offenders Prisoners Prisons Offensive weapons Negligence Rehabilitation Sentencing Young offenders Reform Unfair practices Remand in custody Reparation by offenders Civil law Mediation
Legislation
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk