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Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, the amendment runs into my own Amendment No. 252. I shall address my remarks specifically to this amendment, and hold my fire on the more general question for the later debate. However, I very much appreciate the fact that the Minister has tabled an amendment as a result of the discussions in Committee, which she rightly says were most constructive. The amendment requires licensing authorities to prepare statements of policy as to how they will comply with their obligation to promote the regulatory objectives when exercising their functions. However, this simply does not deal with the issue. It fails to direct licensing authorities’ attention to the particular risks to access to justice posed by alternative business structures. The Bill provides comprehensive provision in the requirements of Schedule 13 about the ownership of licensed bodies to tackle the risk that persons who are not ““fit and proper? might gain control over law firms. It is quite bizarre that the Bill should contain nothing to deal with the other main risk: that to access to justice posed by ABSs. On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 81 [Licensing rules]: