Legal Services Bill [HL]

I am reassured by much of what the noble Baroness has said. She made a distinction between delegation and transfer; but if delegation means what she said—in other words, it is not a delegation of the ultimate responsibility to take the decision—is it necessary to have that provision in the Bill at all? In normal circumstances, responsible decision-makers will delegate to other members of staff some of the work that they require to be carried out in order to take that decision. That is a normal part of daily working relations. I would not have thought that it was necessary to refer to that in the Bill. The reference to delegation in the Bill suggested to me that it was a delegation of responsibility as well as work. If the noble Baroness is saying to me that it is not a delegation of responsibility, but is merely a delegation of work, I am reassured. But I am surprised that it was felt necessary to put that on the face of the Bill.