§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he will publish the rules on the extension of conditional fee agreements due to come into effect on 1 April 2000,(a) in draft form and (b) in final form; what plans he has to consult with professional bodies on the rules in draft; and if he will make a statement. [109376]
§ Mr. LockThe Government have already consulted professional bodies and others. We published our consultation paper "Conditional Fees: Sharing the Risks 455W of Litigation" on 23 September 1999. The paper sought views on the regulations and rules of court required to give effect to its policy on conditional fee agreements. It received 91 responses. These included responses from consumer groups, the Civil Justice Council, the Association of District Judges, the Senior Costs Judge, the legal professional bodies (including those with a specialist interest in conditional fees such as the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers), the trade unions and their legal representatives, individual judges, practitioners and the insurance industry. On 1 February, in the light of responses to that consultation paper, the Government published a report entitled "The Government's Conclusions Following Consultation on Conditional Fees: Sharing the Costs of Litigation". The report announced the principles to be set out in regulations applying to conditional fee agreements. The report also contained recommendations to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee concerning the detailed guidance in rules of court governing the recovery of success fees under conditional fee agreements and premiums for after the event insurance policies. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The regulations giving effect to the changes announced in the report will be laid before Parliament in time for them to be approved and come into force on 1 April. The Rule Committee will, before making rules of court, consult such persons as they consider appropriate.