Legal Services Bill [HL]

Once again, we have had an interesting debate. In a sense, we began from Sir David Clementi’s final report, in which he said that the first step of establishing a regulatory regime should be to make clear the objectives of that regime. That is what we have sought to do in Clause 1, bearing in mind what I have already said about public interest. It reflects what I think the noble Viscount is alluding to. We wanted to say, ““This is what the regime should be about: there are different players within that regime, but these are the objectives that should cover the regime””. We wanted to be very clear about what those objectives ought to be. The report then goes on to say—and this is critical for those charged with regulatory responsibility—that those who have separated the regulatory and representative function should carry out their regulation in accordance with those objectives and subject to the oversight. So these are, in a sense, the founding principles. We also go on to say under Clause 48 that the board may make policy statements. We think that this may be an area that we could explore in the context of what the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, is seeking to do. I share the noble Viscount’s concerns and the initial concerns of the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan of Rogart, although he will want to reflect further on this, that we run the risk of creating confusion and—love the profession as I do—of creating opportunities for people to acquire further work from a legal perspective in order to clarify what is meant. My inclination is to say that we need a founding set of principles for the regime. But it may be that under Clause 48, which provides for the board to make policy statements, we can do more to set out what we would be seeking to achieve and how the regime and the overarching regulatory objectives would translate into the work of the individual players, without pre-empting what we would wish to happen, which is that the board itself should be working closely with the different regulatory bodies in figuring out precisely what they should be doing. I am keen to discuss this matter and I am not averse to trying to be clearer, particularly about the Office for Legal Complaints, about which noble Lords have raised issues. But I would be loath to try to set this up in three different sets of objectives in the Bill, because it would be confusing, as others have indicated. We can continue to discuss this. There may be other ways of seeking to clarify further what the policy statements would be and the rules that would follow on from those. That is the way that we have often sought to demonstrate further what the Government are seeking to achieve in discussions about legislation in your Lordships’ House. I am happy to consider that and to discuss it with the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, if it would be a way forward.