§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received about the time limit for bringing actions applicable to those seeking to make claims arising from the ingestion of benzodiazepine tranquillisers.
Mr. John M. TaylorA number of representations I have received on the subject have touched on the question of time limits, among other issues. Time limits are, of course, a matter for the court.
§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what recent representations he has received on the progress of the benzodiazepine tranquillisers claims;
(2) what recent representations he has received on the decisions of the Legal Aid Board in relation to the availability of legal aid in pursuit of claims arising from the use of benzodiazepine tranquillisers.
Mr. John M. TaylorI have received 70 some representations in the last three months, encompassing various aspects of this litigation.
§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether he intends to meet the Legal Aid Advisory Committee on the question of(a) class actions and (b) claims arising out of the use of benzodiazepine tranquillisers.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Lord Chancellor and I are always interested to hear the views of the Legal Aid Advisory Committee on matters which it wished to draw to our attention. The Legal Aid Advisory Committee, however, has no role in respect of the handling of individual cases or groups of cases, which is entirely a matter for the Legal Aid Board.