Commentary Schedule 4: Transfer of employees and property etc of Legal Services Commission Section 39 and Schedule 5: Consequential amendments
262.Subsection (1) provides that Schedule 5 of the Bill has effect. Schedule 5 makes various amendments and repeals which are consequential on the changes to legal aid made by Part 1. There are, for example, a number of amendments to delete references to the LSC in other legislation, such as in Schedule 1 to the Public Records Act 1958 (paragraph 1 of Schedule 5) and in Schedule 2 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (paragraph 2 of Schedule 5). There are also, for example, a number of amendments to replace references to the Community Legal Service and the Criminal Defence Service, such as in the Solicitors Act 1974 (paragraphs 7 to 9 of Schedule 5) and in the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (paragraphs 22 to 25 of Schedule 5).
263.Subsections (2) to (10) ensure that the Lord Chancellor is able abolish the LSC in advance of some or all of the provisions of Part 1 of the Bill being brought into force.
264.Subsection (2) gives the Lord Chancellor the power, where the Lord Chancellor considers it appropriate as part of the arrangements for moving from the legal aid arrangements under the Access to Justice Act 1999 to the operation of the legal aid arrangements under Part 1 of this Act, to make regulations requiring or enabling prescribed services that immediately before the date of such regulations may be funded under the Access to Justice Act, to be made available under Part 1 of this Act for a temporary period specified or described in the regulations.
265.Subsection (4) provides the Lord Chancellor with the power, where the Lord Chancellor considers it appropriate for the LSC to cease to exist before Part 1 of this Act is brought into force, to make regulations making provision for the Lord Chancellor and the Director, or persons authorised by them, to carry out functions of the LSC under Part 1 of the Access to Justice Act for a temporary period specified or described in the regulations. Subsection (6) provides that regulations under subsection (4) may not provide for the Lord Chancellor to take decisions about whether services should be funded in individual cases and regulations may not provide for the Lord Chancellor to give directions or guidance about the carrying out of functions under Part 1 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 in relation to individual cases.
266.Subsection (7) provides that regulations under section 39 may amend, appeal, revoke or otherwise modify Part 1 of the Access to Justice Act, Part 1 of this Act, or any other Act or instrument made under an Act, and that a temporary period described by such regulations may be described, in particular, by reference to the coming into force of a provision of this Act or the repeal of a provision of Part 1 of the Access to Justice Act 1999.
267.Any regulations made under section 39 that amend or repeal a provision of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure unless they revoke such regulations or insert or repeal provision previously repealed or inserted by such regulations, in which case they would be subject to the negative procedure (see section 41(7)(k)).