Justice minister Lord McNally has warned campaigners they should not expect to see significant changes to proposed legal aid cuts.

McNally, who is also leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, faced opposition to his government’s legislation from members on all sides as the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill reached committee stage in the Lords yesterday. He was resolute that the scope and range of legal aid cuts, which will save around £350m from the Ministry of Justice’s annual budget, are likely to be retained in their present form.

‘I want to use the committee stage genuinely to listen,’ said McNally. ‘I can’t start making blanket promises and I can’t start making a list of concessions.

‘The position of the government is this bill has been delivered from the [House of Commons] in pristine condition and ready for adoption. But we will listen and we will ponder.’

The session saw just four amendments debated in more than six hours, but a procession of Lords took turns to outline their concerns about the cuts to scope and in particular plans to remove legal aid from tribunals. No votes were taken during the debate.

Yesterday, Conservative peers Lord Tebbit and Lord Newton tabled a further amendment to save access to legal aid for children involved in medical negligence claims.

During the debate, Newton highlighted that the Law Society, Bar Council and a number of other organisations had presented not only their opposition but costed alternatives to the bill.

But McNally said that ‘vested interests’ could not be allowed to govern policy, adding: ‘We’ve made ourselves constantly available to a wide range of bodies and will continue to do so during the passage of this bill.’

Former justice minister Lord Bach told the chamber he was opposed to plans to deny access to legal aid for people in the second tier or even the Supreme Court. He argued it was unrealistic to expect unrepresented litigants to engage in a deeply unequal contest.

‘It’s inconceivable that John Smith turns up at the Supreme Court and is faced with the justices and the other side represented by no doubt experienced and brilliant counsel.’

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