Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I was not for one second suggesting that public perception was involved in this. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan of Rogart, that if you asked 100 people in the street you would find that they would be able to tell you much more about the Lord Chief Justice and his independent role than about OCPA, because who has heard of OCPA unless they are involved in it? That is not the point that I am making. My point is that, when you are trying to set up a body, you look at the process that is most appropriate, bearing in mind the issues of independence, which I completely accept and agree with. Here we have a body that will have a majority of lay people on it, with a lay chair to begin with. It has a particular and important function, and we have in government a process that is well regarded for providing independent, high-quality appointments. Alongside that, it is completely reasonable for my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor to decide that he wishes to consult various people. The noble Lord does not agree with me, which is absolutely fine, but I just want to make sure that he understands that I am not making the point that he thought I was making. The approach is completely reasonable and is in the spirit of the concordat. Noble Lords will disagree with me but it is important that I make the point clear. This is not, for me, so much about public perception. It is about the fact that we have a process that works and which we believe we should use. We think that that is the right way to proceed.