Legal Services Bill [HL]

I had written ““listen”” on my speaking notes. I absolutely understand that my noble friend is trying to deal with the possibility that a genuine complainant could be deterred because they felt that their complaint was not very worthy or terribly important, and that would lead them into a situation where they would have to pay costs. On the other hand, the Financial Ombudsman Service told us that it has never used the provision, as the noble Lord, Neill of Bladen, said, but that it regards it as important. It has said that it is about balance. It hopes that by making sure people understand the circumstances in which the provision could be used, it will deter those who would otherwise come forward. The Financial Ombudsman Service is very clear that it is not going to use the provision in circumstances where it is obvious that the person was genuine in what they were doing—even if the complaint failed. This goes beyond what we do in the Bill. It is about how we make sure that we explain it to those involved. There may be unscrupulous behaviour on all sides or none. It is possible that somebody could be put off from making a claim because somebody says that they will have to pay. The critical thing is how we deal with it. I have listened carefully. In a sense, the debate has gone exactly as I expected. My inclination is that we probably need to keep the balance, but make sure that we are not running the risk of people failing to make genuine complaints. However, that goes beyond what we want in the Bill.