Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am most grateful to the Minister for her reply, although I am of course disappointed by it. In concluding, I shall go back to the text of the Government’s response to the Joint Committee. At the risk of irritating your Lordships unduly, I shall read out the relevant paragraph again. The Government said that they agree, "““that the intention of the Legal Services Board should be to work in partnership with the authorised regulators, leaving them with the responsibility for day to day regulation. The Legal Services Board should exercise its powers only where approved regulators are clearly failing””." Two important statements stand out here. First, day-to-day regulation of the professions should be in the hands of the approved regulators. That is principle number one; the Minister helpfully nods. Secondly, the Legal Services Board should exercise its powers only when approved regulators are clearly failing. Will the Minister kindly nod again? She has, and I am most grateful. In her response to my amendment, she said that, although it would be desirable for these two principles to be on the face of the Bill, that would not be possible, as it would overconstrain the regulatory activities of the Legal Services Board. That is my understanding of what the Minister—