HC Deb 25 July 2000 vol 354 cc537-8W
34. Dr. Cable

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the recent week of action by legal aid solicitors. [130605]

Mr. Lock

The Department has made no formal assessment of the impact of the recent week of action called by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG).

The LAPG invited 5,000 firms to take part in the week of action by suggesting that they write to the Lord Chancellor's Department. To date, my Department has received letters from about one in 100 firms invited to take part in the action. The Lord Chancellor is confident that solicitors will agree that, in future, constructive consultation on remuneration will be more productive than proposals of non-co-operation with the Legal Services Commission.