Apil brands no win, no fee debate a 'disgrace'

Personal injury lawyers have branded as “disgraceful”, the government’s allocation of just 20 minutes for a parliamentary debate on its controversial no win, no fee agreement reforms.  

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has criticised the lack of parliamentary time allowed to discuss ‘no-win, no-fee’ proposals during yesterday’s third reading debate of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill.

The bill’s provisions to implement the Jackson review received just 20 minutes at the end of the two day debate.

APIL chief executive Deborah Evans said: “These proposals risk cutting off genuine claimants from their right to full and fair redress. It is an utter disgrace that only around 2% of parliamentary time during this report stage has been devoted to examining the very serious impact these proposals will have on people whose lives have been shattered at the hands of others.”

“There are widespread, thoroughly justified and very serious concerns about this Bill and I am extremely worried that proposals are being railroaded through Parliament without proper consideration about the consequences for vulnerable people. The government must stop this runaway juggernaut now, and start to take these concerns seriously.”