Warning over lord chancellor's legal role

Plans to reform the provision of legal services could damage the professional independence of lawyers, a parliamentary committee has warned.

The joint committee on the draft Legal Services Bill expressed concern that the government could have too much power under the planned "simplified" regulatory system for legal services.

In its report, published on Tuesday, the committee also voiced concern regarding the direct powers over the legal profession the draft Bill would grant the lord chancellor.

Lord Falconer's role would involve the appointment of the chairman and members of a new legal services board.

But the committee said the draft Bill should be altered so that initial membership of the legal services board is appointed by the lord chancellor, but only after full consultation with the lord chief justice and the Commons constitutional  affairs committee.

Committee chairman Lord Hunt said the MPs and peers had "some very real concerns" about the proposals put forward in the Bill.

"It is vital that industry and the public have faith that our legal profession is independent of government," he said.

"The legal system must not only be independent, it must be perceived as being independent - and we are worried that the proposals as they stand would give the lord chancellor far too much direct involvement in regulating the legal services market."

Constitutional affairs minister Bridget Prentice welcomed the committee's report and pledged to ensure that the interests of consumers were at the heart of the final proposals.

She also said that cutting back on red tape and bureaucratic burdens would be central to reform of legal services under the Bill.

The government was "keen to ensure that its proposals remain consistent with the principles of better regulation".

"We want in particular, to reduce the administrative burden of regulation and its cost," added Prentice.

"This is why we are giving a high priority to simplifying or removing over-complex and burdensome regulation."