Legal Services Bill [Lords]

I shall not give way, as we have covered the point pretty well. I simply do not understand how the wide-ranging exemption for trade unions can be regarded as acceptable. It could lead to a situation whereby a union provides conveyancing services, for example, to its members and the Law Society believes that it requires further regulation. As the Minister pointed out, further regulation under the ABS regime to which other legal service providers are subject would not be a possibility. There is no justification for exempting trade unions completely from the ABS licensing regime when providing services to their members, particularly as ““members”” is such a loose term, the definition of which is completely at the discretion of the trade unions. Perhaps, as the Law Society suggested, a solution can be found by limiting the exemption to services that are ancillary to the unions' main function of representing employees in relation to their employer, and therefore ensuring that lay advice on employment issues is not caught, but that would still drive a coach and horses through the principle of the Bill that applies to all other entities. We can see that that principle applies to all entities from the concerns set out to me in a letter of 26 June from the Medical Protection Society. MPS is a mutual, not-for-profit organisation that has offered expert medico-legal support and advice, as well as discretionary indemnity for civil claims to doctors, dentists and other health care professionals on matters arising from their professional practice, for more than 100 years. It stated:"““The Legal Services Bill makes no special provisions for membership organisations such as MPS. Instead such organisations would be required to set up Alternative Business Structures. We believe that this approach is disproportionate to the level of risk presented by membership organisations...We believe that there is a clear case for MPS to be classed as one of the bodies eligible to apply for special licences in which the statutory requirements would be waived or otherwise modified.””" That point highlights the unjustified special treatment of trade unions and the unsatisfactory nature of the legislation in relation to genuine not-for-profit organisations such as MPS. Perhaps the Minster can enlighten us as to why groups such as MPS will be forced to go through the full ABS licensing process while trade unions will not be regulated at all. Amendment No. 152, which was tabled by the Liberal Democrats, addresses that anomaly by giving not-for-profit bodies the exemption enjoyed by unions. That may be fairer to not-for-profit bodies but, as the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming) said, it may be a hammer to crack a nut, and it would still be inconsistent with the basic thinking behind the Bill. It would certainly not improve the position for consumers. The Government's position is as confused as it is unacceptable. The matter needs a thorough rethink, and our amendments provide an opportunity for that to happen. On that basis, we shall urge the House to divide on amendment No. 35, which removes the exemption, and I hope that hon. Members will support it.