HC Deb 19 May 1997 vol 294 cc371-2
28. Mr. Baker

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to change the qualifying criteria for legal aid. [392]

Mr. Hoon

The new Government pledged in their manifesto to undertake a wide-ranging review of the civil justice system and of legal aid.

Mr. Baker

I am grateful for that reply. Is the Minister aware that only 47 per cent. of people now qualify for legal aid, compared with 70 per cent. in 1979? Is that not a severe indictment of the previous Conservative Government? Is the Minister further aware that, notwithstanding the people on legal aid and the very rich, huge numbers of people are, in effect, barred by financial circumstances from access to law? Is that not an affront in a civilised country? What steps will the hon. Gentleman take to rectify that?

Mr. Hoon

That is why our manifesto refers to the need for a review of not only the civil justice system, but legal aid. The hon. Gentleman should bear in mind the fact, however, that the cost of legal aid has doubled since the beginning of the decade. In 1990–91, net expenditure was £682 million; for 1996–97, it is expected to be £1.5 billion. The increase in 1996–97 alone is expected to be 6.2 per cent., which is more than double the rate of inflation.

Mr. Mitchell

Having accepted my congratulations on his appointment, does my hon. Friend agree that, although it is a good thing to have a Government who will undertake a review of legal aid, instead of making the system leaner and access more restricted, it would be sensible to run the system more economically by having an employed solicitor service operating through a public defender service, so that legal aid and its services could be made available much more cheaply to a far wider proportion of the population?

Mr. Hoon

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his suggestion. He will know from the manifesto on which he was elected that the Government are committed to investigating the possibility of developing a community legal service. One of our initiatives will be to bring together the expertise currently available in the professions and in the voluntary sector. We think that, together, they can make a significant contribution towards ensuring that as many of our citizens as possible have access to high-quality legal advice.

Mr. Streeter

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment, and wish him every success with his important responsibilities. Will he explain to the House how, having turned their back on a cash-limited budget, the Labour Government intend to keep control of legal aid spending in the next five years?

Mr. Hoon

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his good wishes. He struggled with these problems in previous months. He knows better than I the difficulties that we face with an expanding legal aid bill. I do not propose to repeat the figures that I gave the House a few minutes ago, save to say that we all face the challenge of ensuring that as many citizens as possible have access to high-quality legal advice while recognising that that can be achieved only within reasonable financial limitations.