Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am extremely grateful for this interesting debate. I agree with a large amount of what has been said, but there is a problem with these amendments because they technically do not work. It is very interesting to think about what we mean by the consumer in this context. I do not know whether the figure of 40 per cent is correct. It would not surprise me. If we have any statistics on that, I shall try to dig them out today and circulate them around your Lordships’ House. In Committee, we talked a lot about the rationale for setting up the Consumer Panel in the Bill and the opportunity to bring consumers together in order to have that input in a very particular way. There were issues, but I am sure that noble Lords were broadly content with what we are seeking to do. Consumers encompass a wide range of different people. Individuals and small businesses consume legal services, as indeed do government departments, big business, voluntary organisations and others. Under the clause, the Consumer Panel is designed to represent those interests and, indeed, is required to think about its representation. I accept the point made by the noble Lords, Lord Carlile and Lord Kingsland, that we should think about the role of the board, but we want to make it clear in legislation who we want to ensure is included. It is also true that non-practising but legally qualified professionals could serve on the panel. Where we differ slightly is on the important issue of who should sit as a representative of that corporate body. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Wirral, answered that by saying that, through their legal departments, many large corporate bodies instruct outside legal professionals, and I maintain that the consumer in that context is the person asking the legal department to instruct the external legal professionals. Just as I, as a Minister, have legal advisers who will instruct parliamentary counsel or indeed external legal professionals to support and advise me, so, too, noble Lords who are not themselves legally qualified in particular areas will instruct as individuals. We are seeking to ensure that the consumers on this panel are not those practising in the legal profession, wonderful though they may be.