Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I should like to speak briefly in the gap. I shall be talking about miners and I refer to my interest as declared in my speeches of 11 July and 23 November of this year. It is beyond doubt that the miners and many other people have been let down by some members of the legal profession. I highlighted this in my speech of23 November so I have no need to go over it again this evening. I was pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, referred to it. I took no great pleasure in having to name people who, in my view, had been dishonest with some of the miners and their widows, but I know of no other way of trying to get justice for these people. I welcome the Bill and hope that we might reach a situation where regulation will put a stop to the practices that have been followed by a minority of the legal profession. I have always been keen to ensure that all consumers receive good service from the Law Society. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, and the poor way in which the Law Society has handled complaints about miners’ compensation cases is an example. The Law Society’s complaints office at Leamington Spa has over the years been recognised as a failing organisation; this year it was fined by the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner. It is therefore imperative to restore consumer confidence that the new Office for Legal Complaints, as mentioned in the Bill, is truly a new body and not simply a transfer of current staff and management to the new organisation. It is essential that people such as miners are confident that their cases have been dealt with expeditiously and fairly. There should be regulations to deal with the solicitors who have been reducing miners’ compensation after they have been paid a fee of £2,100 for each case by the Government. Only a few weeks ago, a gentleman who lives not far from me wrote to me and sent me a cheque. I wondered what it was all about and rang him up. He said, ““I have just received a cheque, which I have sent to you””. It was for 37p, to a miner suffering from bronchitis and emphysema. I hope that regulations under the Bill will put a stop to that kind of practice.