HC Deb 08 December 1997 vol 302 cc662-3
33. Mr. Dismore

If he will make a statement concerning the development of the fast-track plan as part of his civil justice reforms. [18011]

Mr. Hoon

The Lord Chancellor's Department issued a working paper on judicial case management in July. The responses of practitioners and others have been carefully considered and, in the light of the comments received, amendments are being made to the original proposals for the fast track. Those amended proposals will be put before the civil procedure rule committee in February. A research project on fast-track costs is due to be completed by the end of January and we plan to issue a consultation paper on the level of those costs after Easter.

Mr. Dismore

Is my hon. Friend aware of the concerns expressed by trade unions—which, as a personal injury legal practitioner for 19 years, I share—that the fixed-cost regime of the fast-track system may prove so inflexible that the present very efficient legal schemes will not be able to be continued? Last year those schemes helped 150,000 accident victims recover £330 million in damages at no cost to the taxpayer.

Bearing in mind the need for us to put forward realistic, workable, tried and tested alternatives to legal aid, will my hon. Friend consider deferring the introduction of the fixed-costs regime in the fast-track system until some time after the substantive rule changes have been in place, to allow the fast-track system to bed down, as Sir Peter Middleton recommended? That would enable us to establish the true costs of litigating under the fast-track system and thus ensure far better and wider access to justice

Mr. Hoon

I thank my hon. Friend for all the constructive and helpful advice that he has given both to me personally and to the Department. He has brought to bear his considerable practical experience of these matters, and we are still learning from him; I can assure him that his comments are being thoroughly taken into account. Perhaps I may describe the way in which the Department is proceeding.

We have invited the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies to undertake research to establish the work that is required in fast-track cases to begin the task of setting the level of fast-track costs for solicitors. I should emphasise that the research is overseen by a steering committee that includes representatives from the Law Society, the Legal Aid Board, the National Consumer Council, the Consumers Association and a number of academics. The steering committee is informed about all the interested parties, including the trade unions, and their concerns on how we take the matter forward.

Mr. Ian Bruce

I am sure that all hon. Members believe in the maxim that justice delayed can be justice denied, but can the Minister look again at personal injuries, which were mentioned by the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore)? Where people cannot obtain access to legal aid, they may be prevented from taking action under the civil system, so their cases will not be speeded up. We must remember that in personal injury cases the Government and the social security budget are often the first to be paid out of the settlement. The Government may be being penny wise and pound very foolish.

Mr. Hoon

My hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) asked a specific question about the fast-track procedure in civil justice; the hon. Gentleman has introduced the subject of legal aid. It is important that both matters are considered together. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that justice delayed is justice denied. When considering the totality of our proposals, it is important that we ensure that there is a speedy justice system and that as many people as possible have proper access to it.

Mr. Gareth Thomas

Does my hon. Friend agree with the view, expressed by many with experience in this area, that removal of the complexity, delay and expense that play such a large part in the civil justice system at the moment will go a long way to restoring public confidence in the civil justice system?

Mr. Hoon

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, and I agree that, too often, criticisms made of the existing system are used to attack the system that we propose. I am confident that, when we are able to bring about fundamental changes in the way in which the civil justice system works, those changes will have a very significant impact on costs and therefore the price paid by users of our legal system.