The Government has insisted that while sympathetic to a ban on referral fees, it will not introduce one as a knee jerk reaction.
In response to a question from Lord Bach over whether the Government had made up its mind on the issue the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, Lord McNally today said: “The Government are sympathetic to the idea of a ban on referral fees, and are looking at how to tackle the issue as part of wider reforms-how we could do so effectively.
“Perhaps the opposition have not yet got used to the fact that we are not a knee-jerk reaction Government; we are looking at the problem. The Prime Minister himself has made it very clear that we believe that Lord Justice Jackson has given us the solution to the problem. We are now looking at how to make it most effective.”
Earlier Lord Sheikh has asked whether the issue will be addressed in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is currently in the House of Commons?”
“Whether the question of referral fees will find its way into the Bill is a matter for the study that we are undertaking into ways that this could be implemented. However, we are trying to bring forward a range of the Jackson proposals in that Bill,” commented Lord McNally.
“As to referral fees, as my noble friend will be aware, the Legal Services Board and the Transport Select Committee advised a solution in terms of transparency. Lord Justice Jackson recommended a ban and, as I indicated, the Government are sympathetic to the idea of a ban.”
During the debate, Lord Carlile of Berriew asked for confirmation that referral fees or “kick-back fees” in criminal cases are “illegal, corrupt and should not be undertaken in any case by any lawyer?”; while Lord McFall of Alcluith called on the OFT to look at why personal injury claim payouts have doubled from £7 billion to £14 billion while road accidents have largely reduced over the last ten years.
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames then described the practice of insurers charging solicitors referral fees for names as “unethical and offensive”, adding but ensures that the claims are handled not by the most competent or well qualified solicitors but by those who are prepared to pay the most to buy the clients.
Medico-Legal News Source: PostOnline
