§ 3. Mr. Willeyasked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement upon the implementation of Section 5 of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949.
§ 4. Mr. Jannerasked the Attorney-General whether he will now bring into operation the Legal Advice Scheme under the Legal Aid and Advice Act.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI have nothing to add to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, East (Mr. E. Fletcher) on 6th February, except that my noble Friend, the Lord Chancellor, is considering the observations of the Select Committee on Estimates about the advantages of implementing Section 5 of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949.
Mr. WileyWhile expressing no surprise at the right hon. and learned Gentleman's reply, may I ask whether, in view of the Report of the Select Committee on Estimates, he will assure the House that urgent attention will be given to this problem and that an endeavour will be made to meet the wishes of the Select Committee?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI can assure the hon. Gentleman that very close consideration is being given to the Report of the Select Committee on Estimates. Whether its conclusions as to the economy which might result from the institution of a legal advice scheme are well founded is, perhaps, somewhat open to doubt.
§ Mr. JannerWould the right hon. and learned Gentleman say what his personal views are about the matter and whether he proposes to help in this? Is he not aware that a scheme of this kind is really an urgent necessity in many cases, and does he not think that he ought to throw in his weight in order that the scheme might be put into effect?
§ The Attorney-GeneralAs I signed the Report of the Rushcliffe Committee, the hon. Gentleman should be able to learn what my views were at that time.
§ 5. Mr. Jannerasked the Attorney-General whether he will now make legal aid available for litigants whose cases proceed to the House of Lords, and particularly when they are the respondent in such appeals.
§ The Attorney-GeneralNo. This extension of the Legal Aid Scheme is not one which Her Majesty's Government could contemplate at present.
§ Mr. JannerDoes the right hon. Gentleman really think it fair that if a person has passed through all the other proceedings right up to the House of Lords and has been successful all the way he should not be assisted in the event of the other party taking him to the Lords so that he or she may contest the matter? Surely, that is a very unfair situation. Secondly, as the matter involves so very few, does not the right hon. Gentleman think he ought to reconsider the position and see to it that such a person is helped?
§ Mr. HaleI do not want to stop an answer being given, but apparently none is to be given. Surely the right hon. Gentleman is aware that the House of Lords is one of those tribunals before which it is almost impossible for a person to proceed in forma pauperis without substantial financial assistance from somebody, because the cost of printing, reproducing, and lodging the documents alone is a very heavy burden indeed? In those circumstances, is not this a glaring example of an anomaly which ought to be put right?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI have nothing to add to the Answer I have already given on this subject. The cost of an appeal to the House of Lords, or indeed the cost of defending an appeal, which would fall upon the Legal Aid Fund and would benefit perhaps one or two individuals might, with advantage, be more usefully employed in giving aid and assistance in inferior courts.