7. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Legal Aid and Access to Justice

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:59 pm on 18 January 2022.

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Photo of Jack Sargeant Jack Sargeant Labour 5:59, 18 January 2022

I really welcome today's statement from the Counsel General and the work behind this statement, from both the Counsel General and the Minister for Social Justice. I think Members of this Senedd, no matter what political home we find ourselves in, should recognise and welcome a Government that is seeking to retip the scales of justice towards ordinary people, and this is something certainly that is echoed in today's statement, and I wondered if the Counsel General has any advice of his own to the Welsh Conservative group in terms of them reflecting on their position.

Counsel General, we see example after example of the powerful hiding behind a system that is rigged in their favour: Grenfell, the Post Office Horizon scandal, and of course Hillsborough, to name just a few of them. Those with deep pockets can often afford access to huge legal teams, and then ordinary people are often left feeling intimidated by this, and frankly, even when they do get some level of legal support, there is often a lack of parity of esteem: teams of barristers funded by the state or large organisations and companies up against people consistently worried about how they will fund their own legal team and how long these proceedings will last. Again and again, the powerful use delays to grind opponents down because they can afford to. It's a tactic; it's simply a tactic to avoid justice, and that is wrong on every single level.

Counsel General, thankfully, there are some legal firms out there, like Hudgell Solicitors, who will support the underdog, but the system should not rely on their goodwill. Can I ask the Counsel General how do we start that journey of retipping the scales of justice in terms of devolution of further powers to address these problems, and, again, does he have any advice for Members of the Welsh Conservative group about this issue so that they can reflect and retip their own judgments on the scale of justice? Diolch yn fawr.