§ 31. Mr. Andrew Dismore (Hendon)If he will set minimum requirements for pro bono work as a qualification for appointment to Queen' s Counsel status. [76336]
§ The Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)My right honourable and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor has no plans to set minimum requirements for pro bono work as a qualification for appointment to the rank of Queen's Counsel. A commitment to pro bono work is, however, taken into account when considering Queen's Counsel applications.
§ Mr. DismoreDoes my hon. Friend agree that, at the very least, it would be appropriate for QCs to spend some time on pro bono work, bearing in mind the fact that they earn up to £500,000 even before they are appointed as QCs? Does not the fact that the QC system has, so far, signally failed to provide pro bono work indicate a wider, symptomatic problem? Is not the QC system an anachronistic restrictive practice which does not work in the public interest and should be scrapped?
§ Mr. HoonAs I said, a commitment to do pro bono work is taken into account when considering applications for QC status. The Government recognise the contribution that the process of appointing QCs has played in selecting senior lawyers. There are no present plans to review that.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)Will the Minister concede that if pro bono work is to be taken into account as a consideration in deciding whether a barrister should become a QC, such a stipulation should apply also to Members of Parliament who are barristers, and who hitherto have become QCs, as I understand it, as of right?
§ Dr. Lynda Clark (Edinburgh, Pentlands)Has the Minister any idea, by way of a survey or otherwise, of the amount of pro bono work done by QCs—both as QCs and prior to becoming QCs? I can speak only for Scotland, where my contemporaries and I have done vast amounts of pro bono work in our time.
§ Mr. HoonI am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend for that information. The matter is taken into account in considering applications for QC status.