HL Deb 24 October 1990 vol 522 cc1402-3

38 Clause 20, page 16, line 21, after '(a)' insert 'a person who is or was'.

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 38. I should also like to speak to Amendments Nos. 40 to 46, 192 and 193 which relate to the clauses and schedule dealing with the legal services ombudsman. A good deal of detail is involved.

Amendments Nos. 38 and 40 make it possible for the ombudsman to deal with a complaint in respect of a practitioner who has left practice since the matter for complaint arose. Amendments Nos. 41 to 43 and 46 concern the capacity of the ombudsman to do his job properly and to secure an effective remedy for clients. That is a point which arose when we considered the ombudsman's powers and how useful it would be to the client for the ombudsman to have such jurisdiction with regard to former practitioners.

Amendments Nos. 44 and 45 strengthen the ombudsman's powers to require that non-compliance with a recommendation is publicised. During the debate on that power in another place the question arose as to what would happen if a practitioner or professional body refused to publicise the reasons as directed. The amendments were brought forward as a result of that discussion and will enable the ombudsman to publicise the facts where the practitioner or professional body clearly will not do so, and then to recover the reasonable costs. The ombudsman will, of course, be subject to judicial review if his actions in enforcing the publicity sanction were considered to be unreasonable.

Amendment No. 192 is a technical amendment which will enable the ombudsman to compensate a member of staff for loss of office, should that be necessary.

Amendment No. 193 allows the Lord Chancellor to appoint an acting legal services ombudsman should the need arise. That could be appropriate, for example, because of prolonged illness or sudden death —I hope that neither of those will apply to the person I have suggested should be nominated—or because the ombudsman thinks that it would be inappropriate for him to act in a particular case, which is much more likely, perhaps because of personal acquaintance with the client or practitioner involved, or for any other reason. The acting ombudsman will have the same powers as the ombudsman but will only act in accordance with his or her terms of appointment.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 38.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.