The Legal Services Board (LSB) has initiated a consultation on its draft business plan and budget for 2024/25, aiming to enhance regulation’s role in shaping a legal services market aligned with societal needs. The plan focuses on strengthening direct oversight of regulators, ensuring their effective performance and resilience in conducting regulatory reviews. Anticipating resource demands, the LSB aims to address live events, including the delegation application from CILEX and an investigation into the events leading to the SRA’s intervention in Axiom Ince. The plan also emphasizes market surveillance, horizon scanning, and collaborative efforts to address equality, diversity, and inclusion gaps, while considering the role of regulation in AI use and improving access to justice. The draft budget of £5.329M represents a 13.9% increase from the previous year, reflecting the LSB’s commitment to high regulatory standards and consumer protection.
The LSB’s Chief Executive, Matthew Hill, highlights the progress in delivering fair outcomes and building confidence but acknowledges the need for further work. Emphasizing the importance of high regulatory standards, he underscores the strengthened oversight’s role in anticipating issues and preventing harm to consumers and the public. The LSB invites stakeholder participation in an online consultation event to discuss the draft business plan and budget in detail, emphasizing the ongoing commitment to shaping a regulatory landscape that safeguards consumer interests and upholds professional standards.