So, where are we at with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill?   Good question, and one that I will answer as best as I can, given that it is tied up with the minutiae of parliamentary process.

The bill was before the Lords in mid-January with opposition from peers from all parties, many of whom were proposing amendments, particularly to the sections in relation to eligibility and scope of Public Funding (Legal Aid).  One such amendment, surprisingly proposed by Lord Tebbit, was to reinstate public funding for clinical negligence cases.  However, after many hours of debate, the amendments were withdrawn one by one and the bill passed through the house.

What’s going on here?  What seems to be the case is that the peers who are opposing the bill saw no merit in defeating the bill in the Lords, as they feel that a more effective tactic is to use the eight days of committee meeting to stage shows of strength to obtain concessions from Coalition ministers.  Once ministers have been given a chance to compromise with regard to the content of the bill in committee and there is a vote at that stage, it cannot be revisited in the same form at a later date.  The bill might just then reflect the proposed amendments that were previously withdrawn.

This might just be the better news for a change.  Let’s see.