HC Deb 10 July 1978 vol 953 cc1023-4
56. Mr. Watkinson

asked the Attorney-General if he remains satisfied with the access that poor people have to legal services.

The Solicitor-General

My noble Friend regrets the restrictions on public expenditure that prevent him from improving the financial conditions governing access by people of limited means to legal services available under the legal aid scheme. It is his intention to improve them as soon as possible. The Royal Commission on Legal Services is examining the problem of access to legal services generally.

Mr. Watkinson

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the development of law centres has been one of the most significant developments in the provision of legal services for poorer people? Will he do everything he can to encourage this development? Such a centre is being considered for my county of Gloucestershire. Will he give as much encouragement as he can to such schemes and try to elicit from the Treasury a greater share of public funds for the provision of legal services?

The Solicitor-General

I wholly agree with my hon. Friend, and he and I can be fortified by the reflection that my noble Friend the Lord Chancellor agrees with us both. As my hon. Friend has properly recognised, the problem is that one has to stretch the resources to meet the need. As regards the specific law centre which my hon. Friend mentions, I shall draw what he said to my noble Friend's attention.

Mr. Edward Gardner

Does the Solicitor-General agree that one of the prime weaknesses of our legal aid system at the moment is the absence of legal aid for those appearing before tribunals such as the national insurance commissioner, the medical appeal tribunal and others of that kind? Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that this gap in the legal aid system causes great distress to people who have not the experience and ability to represent themselves or the resources to pay for the legal aid which they seriously need?

The Solicitor-General

I agree that there is a need for legal aid for representation in some cases before some tribunals. One of the difficulties, as the hon. and learned Gentleman appreciates, is to screen the cases so that the resources go to the right needs, as well as the difficulty of discerning priorities among the competing needs in this field.