By Neil Rose


The government this week gave in to opposition efforts to stop the 'polluter pays' principle applying to lawyers cleared by the proposed Office for Legal Complaints (OLC).



During the report stage of the Legal Services Bill, minister Bridget Prentice surprised MPs by accepting a Liberal Democrat amendment that means the OLC will not levy a charge when a complaint is not upheld, so long as the lawyer took 'all reasonable steps' to resolve the complaint under their internal complaints procedure.



The government had planned to amend the Bill to allow the OLC to waive or reduce the fee.



Ms Prentice said: 'I recognised the force of the argument expressed both in committee and in [the House of Lords] that, if someone is entirely innocent, it is quite unreasonable to expect them to pay costs. However, they must be able to show - and the OLC must be able to see - that the in-house complaints system is robust and has been followed assiduously.' The Law Society said it was pleased by the move.



There were two votes on the Bill: one rejected another Conservative attempt to require that the Lord Chancellor gain the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice - rather than just consult with him - in the appointment of members of the Legal Services Board; the other backed an amendment by Labour MP Kevan Jones to ensure that all chairmen of the board, rather than just the first, are non-lawyers.



However, the government refused to move over concerns about the exemption for trade unions that offer reserved legal services from the need for licensing under the alternative business structure regime. It has been argued that this would allow them to operate unregulated.



Ms Prentice said that, if a union moved beyond providing services to its members, it would require licensing, and that, in any case, 'all reserved services still have to be provided by qualified lawyers, subject to the regulation of bodies such as the Law Society'.



She also insisted that the Bill contains sufficient safeguards to ensure the board remains a supervisory regulator and does not interfere in the work of an approved regulator unless it is clearly failing. This continues to be a concern of both the Conservatives and the Law Society.



It is likely that these points will be taken up by the Lords now that the Bill is entering the process by which the two Houses agree the final text ahead of Royal Assent.