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Legal Services Bill

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. On 17 October 2005, I informed this House of the publication of The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First White Paper setting out the Government's proposals for the regulatory reform of legal services in England and Wales. I am pleased today, just seven months later, to be publishing the draft Legal Services Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny, as the first step in delivering on those proposals. Copies of the draft Bill and accompanying regulatory impact assessment will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The draft Bill sets out our detailed plans for the creation of a strong independent oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board, which will ensure that front line regulators discharge their duties effectively. In addition, legislation will provide the LSB with a wide range of powers including those to authorise and de-authorise front line regulators and quickly to bring unregulated legal services under its remit through secondary legislation to best protect consumers' interests. Our proposals also provide for the creation of an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which for the first time will remove the handling of legal complaints from the legal professions. The OLC will help to foster greater consumer confidence and result in quick and fair redress. The draft Legal Services Bill also sets out arrangements to facilitate alternative business structures, which would enable different kinds of lawyers, and lawyers and non-lawyers, to work together on an equal footing. These structures will allow legal services to be delivered in new ways, promoting greater competition and innovation and enabling providers better to respond to the demands of consumers. A range of safeguards will be put in place to protect consumers and demand high standards. In taking forward these proposals the Government have continued to engage with key stakeholders. The Consumer Advisory Panel, comprising representatives of main consumer bodies, has contributed significantly to informing and shaping the proposed reforms. In addition to the consumer panel we have, throughout the process, maintained effective engagement with all stakeholder groups including the legal professions, consumer organisations and the general public. The draft Legal Services Bill will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee that has been constituted for that purpose, which will report by July 2006. This timeframe provides an opportunity for Parliament to take evidence and consider the detail of the proposals and make recommendations through the Joint Committee's final report. These proposals are complex and important and I believe that it is right that Parliament should have the opportunity to scrutinise them in draft form. I look forward to receiving the Joint Committee's report.