Much of the correspondence in your recent editions has been severely critical of the government. The general theme has been complaints about badly drafted and rushed legislation and an increasing habit (particularly by the Treasury) to introduce measures by issuing a sketchy draft first, declaring the date on which it will become operative and not really clarifying the actual provisions until just before the commencement date (if one is lucky) or after it. Red tape is also the perennial bug-bear of all those who have a real job to do, produced in suffocating amounts by, I suspect, those who do not, and have to be found something to do by a government that is desperate to boast about its wonderful employment record compared with the rest of Europe.

The government seems intent on making everyone's job more difficult. The scene is one of demoralised and stressed lawyers who are beginning to wonder why they bothered to qualify. Sadly, this state of affairs is not confined only to the legal profession, but it is prevalent in education and medicine, both of which directly affect the future of every person in this country.


Can anyone help me understand why the government and their various agencies seem to be intent on destroying any kind of true professional standards by paralysing them with administrative claptrap? We are so busy ticking boxes these days that we are losing the plot completely for our clients.


Zoe Deacon, Cheshire