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Proceeding contribution from Joan Ruddock (Labour) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 2 November 2011. It occurred during Debate on bill on Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.


Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

I could not agree more. That is so often the case, and often only the threat of legal action can even get us to the point of knowing who we are trying to deal with. That is an essential point. Then there are those who are unlawfully evicted, and also those who may even be lawfully evicted, but could not or should not be evicted if they had an opportunity to contest the eviction. This morning we had a call from a family of five with the bailiffs at the door. If it had been a couple of days earlier, they could have been sent to a solicitor. We know about the case now, and the eviction could have been challenged. The family could have been kept in that home, albeit that they would have had to be put under a stringent regime of dealing with their financial difficulties, which came about because things had gone wrong with their housing benefit. In future, they would not be able to get the assistance that they so badly needed, and they would therefore, as now, present themselves and cost the state a lot more money, if they could get the help they need at all. Then there are the workers who are dismissed and found possibly to have a case for unfair dismissal. Under the Government's proposals, they could get assistance only if they were able to claim discrimination. My constituency is hugely multicultural. Will people have to be told, ““Can you possibly dress this up as discrimination, so that you can get the legal assistance that you will otherwise be denied””? We do not want to have to go down that path. This will be a terrible disaster for my constituents. The constituents of the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr Djanogly) may be more privileged than mine are. They may not need this kind of assistance, and he may not have surgeries bursting with constituents with problems. He may not receive the same number of e-mails, telephone calls and letters—[Interruption.] He smiles. Perhaps he would like to say—


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
534 c991 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Disclosure of information Conditions of employment Data protection Criminal proceedings Debt collection Advisory services Finance Fees and charges Education Legal aid scheme Eligibility Legal representation Legal Services Commission Legal opinion Northern Ireland Workplace pensions Property transfer Social security benefits Reform Telephone services Conditional fee agreements Police stations Lord Chancellor Civil law
Legislation
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk