The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published annual reports on the performance of the eight legal services regulatory bodies. Each one of the eight providers regulates a different type of lawyer in England and Wales, and has control over its day to day operations. However under the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act), they have the same obligations and are assessed against the same 27 outcomes across five standards. The standards are: regulatory approach, authorisation, supervision, enforcement, and well-led: governance and leadership.
The report has found that the performance of most of the regulatory bodies has improved since the last assessment in November 2019. Notably, the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have met all the outcomes required across all standards. However, the report also found that although regulatory bodies are generally performing well against the authorisation, supervision and enforcement standards, there is a lower level of achievement in meeting the standard required for outcomes under the regulatory approach and well-led standards.
The LSB is therefore considering further actions including:
- Undertaking a thematic review around regulatory approach in the coming year, depending on regulatory bodies’ progress in meeting the standard required.
- Several of the not met ratings are associated with the quality and clarity of applications for statutory approval of changes to regulatory arrangements and practising certificate fees. Whilst some regulators appear to be experiencing little difficulty in meeting these standards, the LSB recently started a review of its rules and guidance in this area.
In last year’s report, the LSB raised concerns over some regulatory bodies not fully embedding the regulatory performance framework into their governance arrangements. The LSB has subsequently launched targeted reviews of the Bar Standard Board (BSB) and Faculty Office (FO) on performance against the well-led standard. These reviews formally began in September 2020 and are scheduled to conclude in early 2021.
Matthew Hill, Chief Executive of the Legal Services Board, said:
“Independent regulation protects the public and benefits the profession, and we have seen some welcome improvement across the regulatory bodies, particularly in their enforcement of standards and increased independence. However, there continue to be areas where improvement is needed. No regulatory body that is putting the public first in its decision-making and acting transparently to promote the regulatory objectives set out in the Act should have any difficulty in meeting the standards of good regulation. We expect the regulators to take the performance assessments as indicators of where improvements are needed to ensure they have the right mechanisms in place to carry out their regulatory duties effectively and efficiently. Appropriately regulated lawyers who deliver consistently competent and ethical services will give consumers stronger confidence in the sector and help build a legal services market that better meets the needs of society.”