Member

The effect of all this, as previous speakers in this debate have made clear, and the plain fact of the matter, is that the courts will not be resourced as they need to be to meet the very practical impact of this legislation. I therefore reiterate the concerns set out by my noble friend Lady Scott of Bybrook, who explained that our court system is simply not prepared. The courts’ backlog, which we all know about, will only be exacerbated by huge increases in the numbers of referrals and complaints that are expected to result from the removal of Section 21. We also should not underestimate the pressure on the ombudsman service, which is going to increase from these changes and the new rules.