Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Lord Martin of Springburn Excerpts

Monday 12th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

On that point, does the noble Lord agree that government departments and health services all turn up with lawyers when they are defending an unfair dismissal? The Government will use lawyers, but they are saying that those who are seeking to fight their case do not need lawyers.

[Lord Bach]

The noble Lord is absolutely right; that is the thinking behind it. The same Government who say that this is not legal advice will of course have lawyers there to represent their interests at industrial tribunals. That will continue whether this legislation goes through or not, so let us have no more of that.

We have already heard mention of the unanimous resolution that was passed, I think only yesterday, at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Gateshead to support legal aid. I shall read three parts of that quite long resolution. First:

“A properly funded system whereby access to legal advice and representation before the courts is not denied to those otherwise unable to bear the costs”.

Secondly:

“The continued provision of legal aid”—

yes, legal aid—

“for those who cannot afford to pay for legal services, in serious cases where a failure to provide legal services may lead to injustice”.

That seems to me like an employment tribunal. Lastly:

“The implementation of the party’s policy on Access to Justice debated at Conference in 2011”.

Of course, the leadership of a party does not always take complete note of what the conference passes, even if it passes it unanimously. Yet it might have been better if the Government, who obviously did not agree with what was said in that unanimous resolution, had had the courage to say so during the course of whatever debate took place. It is very depressing.