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Legal Services Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising these points. I was expecting him to do so, which is why my answer is so readily available. Whether the provision of immigration advice services should be made a reserved legal activity has been considered by the Government but was not included in the Bill. Immigration advice is regulated by the Immigration Services Commissioner, as the noble Lord said, with a UK-wide remit, whereas this Bill is primarily concerned with the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The Government are also mindful of the view that the Immigration Services Commissioner’s oversight of the provisions on immigration advice was an issue of public interest as well as one of consumer protection. However, as part of its programme of reform announced last year, the Home Office is currently carrying out a review of all its non-departmental public bodies and agencies to ensure that it has the right mix of bodies to deliver its priorities and to improve governance and the support that it provides to its delivery bodies. One of the bodies within the scope of the review is the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. As with the other bodies within the scope of the review, the Home Office is looking at the functions of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner and whether that body is the most appropriate and effective in delivering the objectives of ensuring that vulnerable groups receive good advice from bona fide advisers, are protected from exploitation by unscrupulous immigration advisers and that public interest in the integrity of the immigration system is maintained. That review is intended to make recommendations to the Home Secretary by the end of this month. The Government will consider the points raised by the noble Lord in the light of the review before the Bill comes back to the House on Report. I hope that that gives the noble Lord the information that he needs at this stage.