Legal Services Bill [HL]

I hope that the Minister’s body language is not too conciliatory on this. I declare an interest as chair of the National Consumer Council. This Bill is about regulating the relationships between the legal profession and its clients. It is not about broader matters; it is about precisely that. It is therefore important that the consumer interest is given primacy. The two interests are not equal. On the face of it I would have no objection to a reference to the public interest. However, I have a deep suspicion that what certain protagonists here mean by the public interest includes a big chunk of the interests of the legal profession itself. I am not going to participate much in Committee, but my noble friend needs to be aware that some of the amendments tabled today raise that suspicion. Whatever concessions the Minister may be prepared to make, we need to be clear that this Bill is primarily about consumers. It should have regard to the public interest—and there is provision for that later in the Bill, as the noble and learned Lord has just said—but the purpose is to protect consumers.