LASPO amendments set to become law after winning final battle in House of Lords
Industry News : 26 April 2012
This week saw the government’s controversial legal aid reforms win the final battle over the bill in the House of Lords. They are now set to become law.
Peers had inflicted 14 defeats on the government in votes on proposed amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill during its way through Parliament.
The final vote, on an amendment called by Labour’s former attorney general Lady Scotland ended in a draw, with 238 peers voting for it and 238 against. This, however, counts as a win under parliamentary convention.
Lady Scotland’s amendment, to ensure legal aid for domestic violence victims, was the only change still under debate following crossbencher Lord Pannick withdrawing his amendment and seeking a statement in the bill to put a duty on the government to ensure access to legal advice.
The government announced a concession earlier in the week to one of the most controversial elements in part 2 of the bill, which agreed to exclude claims for mesothelioma from the reforms until a review of their impact on other areas had been carried out.
The Ministry of Justice, when asked when royal asent would be taking place, said that no date had been confirmed, but it was ‘likely to be soon’.
Sadiq Khan, Labour’s shadow justice secretary said: ‘The bill is a sad and tatty chapter in the story of post war access to justice. The onslaught on our precious legal aid system is an act of vandalism for which this Tory-led government will be forever remembered.'