I have just read in the Criminal Law Solicitors Association's Crime Line that a consultation paper has been issued in relation to CDS Direct, a new initiative by the Legal Services Commission to take over the initial telephone advice element of police station work.

Does this mean that I will no longer be woken up in the early hours of the morning to talk to people who are far too drunk to take in what I am saying, or to understand when I tell them that there is absolutely nothing I can do for them until the following morning?

The article goes on to say that if the commission is correct in its assumptions, a national roll-out of the scheme would shave millions from the legal aid budget.

Does that mean that our miserly rates of pay, which have not increased since April 2001, might be increased? I am not holding my breath.

Steven Baggott, Mason Baggott & Garton, Brigg, North Lincolnshire