§ Dr. Twinnasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a further statement on the use of section 22 of the Legal Aid Act 1974.
§ Mr. NewtonLegal advice has been received to the effect that if a legal aid assessment officer were to pass information to a social security benefit officer, that would almost certainly contravene section 22(1) of the Legal Aid Act 1974. The departmental instructions providing for the disclosure of information have, therefore, been withdrawn. The Government will keep under review the question of whether amending legislation would be appropriate.