Richard Lloyd, the lead reviewer of the Independent Public Bodies Review of the Legal Services Board, has published his report for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). In the foreword he writes: “While acknowledging the shortcomings and complexity of the regulatory framework within which it operates, this review finds that the LSB has lost its way in recent years.”
The review recommends “a major shift in the LSB’s culture and capabilities, a clear separation of its enforcement function from its sector-wide convening work, a renewed appetite for collaboration and a shared understanding of priorities, risks and purpose.”
Stephen Kenny KC, Chair of the Bar Council Regulation Panel, said: “We welcome the review and will consider the findings in detail. A critical conclusion is that the LSB’s development of policy ‘should be limited to what is necessary to support its statutory oversight function. It should not duplicate the MoJ’s responsibility for setting system-wide policy and political priorities, nor the role of approved regulators in developing detailed policy, responding to consumer needs, and driving innovation within their regulatory frameworks’.
"We stated in our submission to the review that at times the LSB has promoted too broad a programme of work and that it needed greater focus on its own activities by spending less time on activities that are better suited to other organisations. In this respect we agree with Richard Lloyd’s findings that the LSB had ‘lost its way’ and we support measures to re-focus its attention on core work.”