The Ministry of Justice has published an independent public bodies review of the Legal Services Board, led by Richard Lloyd. The review examined the LSB’s statutory remit, strategic clarity, governance, accountability and organisational capabilities. It concludes that the LSB has lacked strategic clarity and that its oversight of frontline regulation has fallen short of what government and Parliament could reasonably expect, while recognising the commitment and professionalism of its staff and board.
The report recommends a comprehensive reset within the existing statutory framework, with most of the LSB’s resources directed towards consumer protection through more targeted, proportionate and risk-based oversight of frontline regulators and the Office for Legal Complaints. It also calls for clearer separation between performance oversight and wider collaborative activity, stronger use of data and risk intelligence, and greater alignment across the Ministry of Justice, the LSB and frontline regulators.
For the longer term, the review recommends that the Ministry of Justice undertake a comprehensive review of legal services regulation by 2029, with a view to implementing a future regulatory framework during the next Parliament. The LSB has welcomed the report, acknowledged its responsibility in the system’s failure to protect consumer interests and announced plans to separate its enforcement and oversight functions from its regulatory policy and engagement work. It will also consult in the autumn on a focused three-year strategy to replace its current ten-year sector-wide strategy