To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place to ensure the Legal Service Commission tendering process for face to face civil legal aid services from April 2013 will be undertaken in such a way as to ensure that claimants in receipt of legal aid can...

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place to ensure the Legal Service Commission tendering process for face to face civil legal aid services from April 2013 will be undertaken in such a way as to ensure that claimants in receipt of legal aid can...

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the Community Legal Advice telephone service in each year since 2004; and how many calls the service received in each such year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the Community Legal Advice telephone service in each year since 2004; and how many calls the service received in each such year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to make the Community Legal Advice Helpline the sole gateway to criminal legal aid services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to make the Community Legal Advice Helpline the sole gateway to criminal legal aid services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the impact assessment for the establishment of the Community Legal Advice Helpline as the sole gateway to civil legal aid services considered the cost implications to (a) service users and (b) welfare services providers of using 084 and 087 prefix telephone...

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the impact assessment for the establishment of the Community Legal Advice Helpline as the sole gateway to civil legal aid services considered the cost implications to (a) service users and (b) welfare services providers of using 084 and 087 prefix telephone...

Committee stage eighth sitting (afternoon). Clauses 1 to 8 agreed to, one with amendments. Schedule 1 agreed to, with amendments.

Committee stage eighth sitting (afternoon). Clauses 1 to 8 agreed to, one with amendments. Schedule 1 agreed to, with amendments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of the Community Legal Advice helpline in each of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of the Community Legal Advice helpline in each of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding he plans to allocate to the Community Legal Advice helpline in each of the next three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding he plans to allocate to the Community Legal Advice helpline in each of the next three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the costs of establishing the Community Legal Advice Helpline as the single gateway to civil legal aid services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the costs of establishing the Community Legal Advice Helpline as the single gateway to civil legal aid services.

Lords statement on proposals for the reform of legal aid and the reform of civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales.

Lords statement on proposals for the reform of legal aid and the reform of civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales.

My Lords, I am very sorry that the Minister just brushed aside the leaks in this case, as the Government always seem to do, by saying that it is just a matter of the world that we live in. It is a matter of the world that we live in...

My Lords, I am very sorry that the Minister just brushed aside the leaks in this case, as the Government always seem to do, by saying that it is just a matter of the world that we live in. It is a matter of the world that we live in...

I am very sorry that the noble Lord just brushes aside the leaks in this case—

I am very sorry that the noble Lord just brushes aside the leaks in this case—

My Lords, I cannot welcome the Statement, but I welcome the fact that the Minister has said that not principle but finance has caused the reductions that we have seen. When I read the Statement, I thought that the noble Lord, Lord Bach, could easily have issued a similar Statement...

My Lords, I cannot welcome the Statement, but I welcome the fact that the Minister has said that not principle but finance has caused the reductions that we have seen. When I read the Statement, I thought that the noble Lord, Lord Bach, could easily have issued a similar Statement...

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Strathclyde is encouraging me to cheap populism by agreeing that we should drive down the cost of legal advice to government. Legal costs in general are certainly being looked at. I can reassure the noble Baroness that in the key areas of family law,...

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Strathclyde is encouraging me to cheap populism by agreeing that we should drive down the cost of legal advice to government. Legal costs in general are certainly being looked at. I can reassure the noble Baroness that in the key areas of family law,...

My Lords, I can give some limited encouragement. It is true that the law centre movement and other such bodies, which rely on certain cases of legal aid, will have difficulties with this Statement. I also think that there are likely to be difficulties for the CABs which, as the...

My Lords, I can give some limited encouragement. It is true that the law centre movement and other such bodies, which rely on certain cases of legal aid, will have difficulties with this Statement. I also think that there are likely to be difficulties for the CABs which, as the...

My Lords, I welcome the reference to promoting alternative dispute resolution to accelerate and simplify the resolution of disputes. Can my noble friend indicate what the criteria are to be where exceptional funding for excluded cases is awarded? In particular, will he recognise that it is an issue not just...

My Lords, I welcome the reference to promoting alternative dispute resolution to accelerate and simplify the resolution of disputes. Can my noble friend indicate what the criteria are to be where exceptional funding for excluded cases is awarded? In particular, will he recognise that it is an issue not just...

My Lords, if we are going to recalibrate legal aid, we shall have to explore the alternative resolution of disputes through mediation and other means. On the exceptional cases fund, part of the consultation will be about the criteria and the range of that fund. The recommendations of the legal...

My Lords, if we are going to recalibrate legal aid, we shall have to explore the alternative resolution of disputes through mediation and other means. On the exceptional cases fund, part of the consultation will be about the criteria and the range of that fund. The recommendations of the legal...

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the conflation of the costs of civil and criminal legal aid in the sum of £2 billion, to which my noble friend Lord Bach referred, disguises the greater proportion devoted to criminal legal aid? What will the percentage cut on the civil legal...

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the conflation of the costs of civil and criminal legal aid in the sum of £2 billion, to which my noble friend Lord Bach referred, disguises the greater proportion devoted to criminal legal aid? What will the percentage cut on the civil legal...

My Lords, I shall write to the noble Lord on the specific numbers that are being dealt with in areas that are now going out of scope. I shall raise the issue of court fees with the Lord Chancellor. The target saving is £350 million, and I made it clear...

My Lords, I shall write to the noble Lord on the specific numbers that are being dealt with in areas that are now going out of scope. I shall raise the issue of court fees with the Lord Chancellor. The target saving is £350 million, and I made it clear...

My Lords—

My Lords—