Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, in the questions to those who gave evidence to the Joint Committee, I raised a series of problems from my experience whenI was, in a sense, part of a similar set-up in Brussels. I will not go into details, but it related to the retention of one’s independence as a member of the Bar when in a business relationship of sorts with accountants. I am very worried about this, for the reasons recorded, which I shall not express again, concerning the independence of legal advice and, hence, its quality. Therefore, I go along with my noble friend Lord Kingsland. I do not feel that I am in a position to expunge the clause, but I am worried. I would like an effective monitoring system—not a licensing arrangement at large, but one that is controlled by statute—and, perhaps, a pilot scheme. I entirely recognise the terrors expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile of Berriew, but that is the world in which, somehow or other, we must live.