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LSB announces its next three year strategy

The Legal Services Board (LSB) today publishes its three year strategic plan for the period 2018-21 and its business plan for 2018/19.

The strategic plan identifies the LSB’s priorities for the coming three years. The business plan sets out priorities in respect of year one, including the creation of an outcomes based performance framework so we can monitor the effectiveness of our actions against three overarching themes. They are

  • promoting the public interest through ensuring independent, effective and proportionate regulation
  • making it easier for all consumers to access the services they need and get redress, and
  • increasing innovation, growth and the diversity of services and providers.

The strategy reflects both the feedback the LSB has received from its consultation on its draft strategy and its views on where we believe our work can make most difference.

Legal Services Board interim Chair, Dr Helen Phillips, said

“The Legal Services Board’s vision is for legal services that everyone can access and trust. This strategy sets out how we will approach achieving this vision over the next three years, taking into account the trends and drivers for change that we envisage will affect the market.

We intend to pursue our strategic objectives by working in partnership with others to achieve improvement for consumers and the profession – and through our core role of overseeing the performance of regulators. In this regard we will evaluate whether there is a need to introduce impact assessments in considering rule change applications to better understand implications for all the interested parties.

The strategy will guide our work to maintain and deliver an effective regulatory system operating in the public interest which supports the rule of law and contributes to maintaining the high international standing of legal services in England and Wales.”

Notes

  1. The Strategic plan 2018-21 and the 2018/19 Business Plan can be found here.
  2. Information about the consultation that preceded the publication of these documents (including the Consultation response document) can be found here.
  3. Responses to the consultation can be found here.
  4. The Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) created the LSB as a new regulator with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The new regulatory regime became active on 1 January 2010.
  5. The LSB oversees ten approved regulators, which in turn regulate individual legal practitioners. The approved regulators, designated under Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the 2007 Act, are the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Master of the Faculties, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Association of Costs Lawyers, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is an approved regulator for probate activities only but does not currently authorise anyone to offer this service.
  6. As at 1 April 2017, the legal profession in England and Wales comprised 148,690 solicitors, 15,281 barristers, 6,809 chartered legal executives and 5,958 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The UK legal sector turnover was £31 billion per annum (2016) which is up 19% in cash terms since 2012. For more information see here.