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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, the noble Lord has pre-empted me. I was going to come back with a third and final point about making sure that notice is given. The amendment does not quite work; it does not quite do what the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Alloway, said that he intended it to do. It would mean that there would have to be notice of all decisions, at all times and in all circumstances. These are very particular concerns. Given the principles behind how regulatory bodies must work, it is right that they should in general give notice that they will be making the decisions and identify the issues that are being raised. As we have discussed many times, there must be dialogue—we have used the word ““partnership”” before—between the bodies to get the best possible decision. It is our ambition that this be done appropriately. I do not think that we need to spell it out in the Bill. I hope that what I have said reassures noble Lords and makes it clear that we expect the LSB and the other bodies to behave like good regulatory bodies. They should give notice of the decisions that they are about to make; they should give reasons for their decisions and publicise them as appropriate to those directly affected and those who may be affected in the future; and they should balance and consider the objectives properly. I hope that I have given enough reassurance for the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment on the basis that what I have said will carry weight.