Chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid have revealed they intend to consult on the change by spring 2016. The plans would in effect re-draft the Legal Services Act, which created legal services regulators that maintained connections to representative bodies.
Separation needed for public confidence
Enid Rowlands, chair of the SRA, commented: ‘The public deserves proper independent regulation, and the profession deserves proper representation. But the two functions must be, and must be seen to be, separate.’ She added that this independence is necessary for the public to have confidence in a regulator.
Independent of government
Ms Rowlands acknowledged that her views contrast with those of the Law Society, which has said that public protection necessitates that the setting of rules and standards for legal services must be independent of government. Source: The Law Society Gazette
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