Mr. Se?n Guerin:

The entitlement to legal aid effectively depends on two factors: the interest of justice and financial need. The arrangement in England and Wales is it is presumed that the interest of justice requires the assistance of solicitor and counsel in cases prosecuted on indictment because the mere fact they are being prosecuted on indictment means they are sufficiently serious in and of themselves. We take some comfort, as we mentioned in the submissions, from the view expressed by the Department in earlier consultation to the effect that it does not intend to achieve any restriction on current rights to legal aid by the terms of the Bill. However, we have the concern that the way in which the existing provisions are drafted, as we set out in detail in the submissions, would have the consequence of removing the automatic entitlement to solicitor and counsel for trial on indictment and the entitlement to solicitor and two counsel for trials in the Central Criminal Court, which are obviously more serious.