Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jonathan Djanogly and Julie Elliott(13 years, 3 months ago)
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Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
T9. In the light of the Ministry of Justice’s own impact assessment, which says that increased criminality, less social cohesion and increased costs are all likely to result from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, have the costs to other Government Departments been considered and costed? If so, what are they?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Jonathan Djanogly)
We have worked closely with other Departments to examine the impact of our proposals, and that is ongoing.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jonathan Djanogly and Julie Elliott(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
13. When he expects to bring forward legislative proposals for the reform of legal aid.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Jonathan Djanogly)
We intend to bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Mr Djanogly
Legal aid per se involves poor people, so if we are going to reduce costs it will impact on poor people. It is true that individuals with protected equality characteristics are over-represented within the current client base of civil and family legal aid when compared with the population as a whole, although the extent of that varies by category of law.
Julie Elliott
Will the Minister be taking the advice of the Select Committee on Justice, which recommended that the Government should assess the
“merits of the cost-saving proposals put forward by the Law Society”,
namely the alternative savings of £384 million—£34 million more than the Government’s proposals would save—while protecting all civil and family legal representation?
Mr Djanogly
Various alternatives have been suggested by the institution that the hon. Lady mentions and by many others during the consultation. The question is whether they would work and whether they would deliver the required savings within the spending review period. The main proposal of the Law Society, which she mentioned, is an alcohol levy—a penny on your pint to pay for lawyers.