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| For other Amendment(s) see the following page(s):
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| Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Committee 13-24 |
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| Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of |
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| Clause 1, page 1, line 6, at end insert ‘for the purposes of promoting access to |
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| justice and equality of arms.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(6) | In carrying out his functions under this Act the Lord Chancellor shall— |
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| | (a) | protect and promote the pubic interest; |
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| | (b) | support the constitutional principle of the rule of law; |
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| | (c) | seek to improve access to justice; |
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| | (d) | seek to increase social mobility, diversity and the flow of new entrants |
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| | into the legal profession. |
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| | (7) | The Lord Chancellor must each year lay a report before Parliament explaining |
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| | how he has carried out his functions under section 1(6). |
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| | (8) | The Lord Chancellor must each year lay a report before Parliament describing in |
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| | his opinion the extent to which any changes he has made to the amount of |
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| | expenditure on civil legal aid has caused additional costs to other departments of |
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| | (9) | Before submitting the report to Parliament under section 1(8) the Lord Chancellor |
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| | shall submit the report to the Comptroller and Auditor General for approval.’. |
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| Clause 3, page 2, line 31, at beginning insert— |
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| | ‘(A1) | In carrying out the Lord Chancellor’s functions under this Part, the Lord |
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| | Chancellor must have regard to the need to ensure that legally aided advice and |
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| | representation is of comparable quality to non-legally aided advice and |
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| Clause 3, page 2, line 31, leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘must’. |
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| Clause 3, page 3, line 3, leave out subsection (5) and insert— |
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| | ‘(5) | The Lord Chancellor in setting and monitoring standards under this Part must |
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| | have regard to the financial and administrative burden placed on the legal |
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| | (6) | The Lord Chancellor in setting and monitoring standards under this Part must |
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| | have regard to the long-term sustainability of the legal profession and the need |
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| | adequately to train and supervise new entrants to the profession.’. |
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| Clause 4, page 3, line 17, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(c) | make decisions independently of Government, and |
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| | (d) | make all decisions in accordance with the interests of justice.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(6) | In carrying out all of his functions under this Part, the Lord Chancellor must have |
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| | regard to the need to promote access to justice and equality of arms.’. |
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| Clause 2, page 2, line 20, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(3A) | Before making regulations relating to the payment of remuneration to barristers |
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| | and solicitors in accordance with subsection (3) the Lord Chancellor shall consult |
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| | the General Council of the Bar and the Law Society. |
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| | (3B) | Where the Lord Chancellor makes regulations in accordance with subsection (3) |
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| | he shall have regard to the need to secure the provision of services of the |
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| | description to which the order relates by a sufficient number of competent |
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| Clause 3, page 2, line 33, leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘must’. |
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| Clause 4, page 3, line 12, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(2A) | The Lord Chancellor shall ensure that the Director, or those providing assistance |
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| | to the Director in the performance of his functions under this Part, have |
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| | experience in or knowledge of— |
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| | (a) | the provision of criminal and civil legal services which can be funded |
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| | (b) | the work of the courts, |
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| | (c) | social conditions, and |
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| | (2B) | Every person who exercises any function in relation to the performance of the |
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| | Director’s functions under this Part shall have regard to the desirability of |
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| | (a) | promote access to justice and equality of arms, |
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| | (b) | promote improvements in the range and quality of civil and criminal |
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| | services provided in accordance with this Part and in the ways in which |
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| | they are made accessible to those who need them, and |
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| | (c) | ensure that the services provided in relation to any matter are appropriate |
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| | having regard to its nature and importance.’. |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 28, after ‘Schedule 1’, insert ‘or fall within the category of |
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| proceedings provided for at subsection (1A)’. |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 31, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(1A) | Subject to section 10, civil legal services are to be available to an individual for |
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| | the purposes of challenging an act or omission of a public authority. |
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| | (1B) | “public authority” has the same meaning as in section 6 of the Human Rights Act |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 27, leave out subsection (1). |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 29, leave out paragraph (b). |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 32, after ‘omitting’, insert ‘or adding’. |
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| Clause 8, page 5, line 32, leave out subsection (2). |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(6) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that when an individual is in dispute with the |
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| | state or with a body that is an emanation of the state, in relation to a matter of |
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| | welfare benefits, employment, debt, housing, or immigration, education or |
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| | asylum support, that the individual shall continue to be entitled to legal advice, |
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| | assistance and representation against the state or emanation of the state on the |
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| | same basis existing prior to the enactment of this Act.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(7) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that in any case where the state or an emanation |
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| | of the state has legal advice, assistance or representation, a party in dispute with |
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| | the state or an emanation of the state, shall continue to be entitled in turn to |
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| | equality of arms and to legal aid for legal advice, assistance or representation in |
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| | relation to any claim in welfare benefits, employment, debt, housing, or |
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| | immigration, education or asylum support, as they would have been prior to the |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(8) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that any individual bringing an appeal on a |
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| | point of law or perversity to the Upper Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal, |
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| | the Social Security Commissioners, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court |
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| | shall continue to be entitled to legal aid on the same basis as they would have been |
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| | prior to the enactment of this Act. No individual shall be left without access to |
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| | legal aid in appeal cases in such higher courts and Tribunals which would have |
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| | been in scope prior to the enactment of this Act and on the same basis existing |
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| | prior to the enactment of this Act.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(9) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that where an individual would experience |
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| | difficulty protecting their legal rights by reason of learning difficulties, mental |
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| | health problems, other disabilities, language difficulties, problems of literacy or |
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| | from not being articulate, in relation to welfare benefits, employment, debt, |
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| | housing, or immigration, education or asylum support, that they continue to be |
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| | entitled to legal aid on the same basis as they would have been prior to the |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(10) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that no areas of law within the scope of legal |
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| | aid prior to the enactment of this Act are removed from the scope of legal aid |
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| | unless and until a full independent assessment of the costs of removal has been |
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| | undertaken and presented to Parliament and in particular unless and until it has |
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| | been reasonably established that the removal from scope will not increase the |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(11) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that a detailed strategic plan to fund the not for |
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| | profit legal advice sector is adequately prepared prior to any decisions being |
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| | made on changes to the scope of legal aid, to ensure that individuals are not left |
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| | without access to legal advice and representation in relation to problems of |
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| | welfare benefits, employment, debt, housing, or immigration, education or |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(12) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure, before implementing any changes to legal aid |
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| | in this Act, that in no part of the country will the proposals result in advice deserts |
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| | where it is not reasonably practicable for any person to be able to access legal |
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| | advice and assistance in relation to welfare benefits, employment, debt, housing, |
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| | or immigration, education or asylum support.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(13) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that any individual wishing to access legal aid |
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| | through face to face provision shall be entitled so to do and shall not be compelled |
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| | to do so through a telephone gateway.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(14) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that before any proposals to provide legal aid |
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| | through a telephone gateway are progressed a full further public consultation |
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| | takes place on the specific details of such proposals and such proposals are fully |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(15) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that if a telephone gateway is introduced |
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| | sufficient protection is in place to protect the rights of those who would have |
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| | problems accessing it by reason of learning difficulties, mental health problems, |
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| | language difficulties, problems of literacy, or from not being articulate.’. |
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| Clause 1, page 2, line 7, at end add— |
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| | ‘(16) | The Lord Chancellor must ensure that before any changes to legal aid set out in |
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| | this Act are made, a full independent assessment is carried out into any likely |
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| | increase of litigants in person resulting from such changes and the effect |
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| | accordingly on the deficit.’. |
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| Clause 2, page 2, line 29, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(6) | The Lord Chancellor may make funding availble on a discretionary basis for civil |
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| | legal advice on matters not covered in Schedule 1, where such advice |
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| | complements the civil legal services provided for under that schedule.’. |
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| Schedule 1, page 110, line 4, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(c) | where an individual’s financial difficulties could lead to loss of home.’. |
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| Schedule 1, page 116, line 8, leave out paragraph 15. |
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| Schedule 1, page 115, line 13, at end insert— |
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| | 40 | Civil legal services provided in relation to any review or appeal concerning a |
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| | benefit, allowance, payment, credit or pension under— |
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| | (1) | the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, |
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| | (2) | the Jobseeker’s Act 1995, |
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| | (3) | the State Pension Credit Act 2002, |
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| | (4) | the Tax Credits Act 2002, |
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| | (5) | the Welfare Reform Act 2007, |
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| | (6) | the Welfare Reform Act 2011, or |
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| | (7) | any other enactment relating to social security.’. |
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| Schedule 1, page 114, line 30, after ‘2010’, insert ‘or any European directive in |
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| force relating to equality or discrimination.’. |
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| Schedule 1, page 115, line 2, at end insert— |
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| | ‘38A | Civil legal services in relation to— |
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| | (2) | all areas of debt-related disputes not otherwise covered in this schedule, and |
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| | (3) | all areas of housing law not otherwise covered in this schedule.’. |
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