§ 40. Dr. GibsonTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to publicise his reform of the legal aid system. [70861]
§ Mr. HoonThe Government's planned reforms were first outlined in October 1997. Since then, my Department's and the Legal Aid Board's efforts to publicise them have included numerous speeches; interviews and articles in the national and legal media; consultation papers on various aspects of the reforms; and, most importantly, the White Paper "Modernising Justice", which was published last November. The full text of the White Paper is available on the Internet, and a shortened summary has been widely circulated. In addition, the Explanatory Notes for the Access to Justice Bill are publicly available, and set out details of the Government's intentions for the reformed scheme.