§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment the Lord Chancellor has made of the possibility that, under the conditional fee system, solicitors will not be found for the cases with less prospect of success. [33641]
§ Mr. HoonI think that there are likely to be cases where the prospects of success are not strong enough for solicitors to undertake a conditional fee agreement. However, we do not believe that weak cases ought to be brought whether through legal aid or conditional fees.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the possibility of people being deterred from taking legal action as a result of change from legal aid to conditional fees. [33640]
§ Mr. HoonWe believe that clients with good cases will be able to find lawyers to take personal injury claims once these are removed from legal aid. Some 35,000 people have already used conditional fee agreements in this area,144W lawyers are experienced in taking cases on a conditional fee basis and there is a developed insurance market to provide protective insurance for clients. We welcome responses to the proposals in the consultation paper and if the hon. Member has views on how conditional fees could be made more attractive, I would be glad to receive them.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Lord Chancellor has to ensure that solicitors can be found for personal injury cases with only an even chance of success. [33642]
§ Mr. HoonIf a case has a reasonable prospect of success, a solicitor would be prepared to undertake it on a conditional fee. We do not believe that cases ought to be brought unless they have a strong prospect of success. I do not see that the legal aid budget, paid for by the taxpayer, should pay for a case if a solicitor does not think it has strong enough prospects to take it on under a conditional fee.