231

House of Commons

Thursday 14th June 2007

Public Bill Committee

New Amendments handed in are marked thus

Other Amendments not tabled within the required notice period are marked thus

Legal Services Bill [Lords]

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Note

The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order of the

Committee [12th June 2007].

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

267

Clause  4,  page  2,  line  36,  at beginning insert ‘(1)’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

216

Clause  4,  page  2,  line  36,  leave out ‘assist in the maintenance and development’

and insert ‘ensure the development and maintenance’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

215

Clause  4,  page  3,  line  1,  at end insert—

‘( )	In relation to subsection (1)(b), the Board must satisfy itself that appropriate

standards of education and training, including training in client care, are being

maintained by approved regulators and, should it not be so satisfied in respect of

any particular education and training scheme or schemes, the Board must

consider withdrawal of its approval of that scheme or those schemes.’.

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

232

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

221

Clause  8,  page  3,  line  31,  at end insert—

‘( )	The approval of the Lord Chancellor is required for the appointment of a person

to be the chairman or to be another member of the Panel.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

To make the Lord Chancellor responsible for approving appointments to the Consumer Panel.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

208

Clause  8,  page  4,  line  3,  at end insert—

‘(c)	corporate users of such services.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment makes clear that the Consumer Panel should include representatives of corporate

users of legal services, as well as individuals and small businesses, and disapplies the prohibition

on authorised persons serving as members of the Consumer Panel so far as any representative of

corporate users of legal services is concerned.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

219

Clause  8,  page  4,  line  3,  at end insert ‘, and

(c)	qualified but non-practising solicitors who, in their professional capacity,

use or purchase services provided by persons who are authorised persons

in relation to activities which are reserved legal activities.’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

209

Clause  8,  page  4,  line  11,  after ‘(d)’ insert ‘save in respect of a person appointed to

represent corporate users of reserved legal activities.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

See statement for amendment 208.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

220

Clause  8,  page  4,  line  12,  at end insert ‘, except for those authorised persons

referred to under subsection 4(c).’.

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

233

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

218

Clause  8,  page  4,  line  21,  after ‘appointed’ insert—

‘(a)	by the Board following public advertisement and selection by the

prevailing standards for selection of members of public bodies and’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

222

Clause  11,  page  5,  line  10,  after ‘Board’, insert ‘or on its own initiative’.

Members’ explanatory statement

To enable the Consumer Panel to carry out research and give advice to the Board on its own ini­

tiative, rather than only being permitted to do so at the Board’s request.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

223

Clause  11,  page  5,  line  16,  at end add—

‘(4)	In acting on its own initiative under subsection (1), the Consumer Panel shall not

impose any costs on any of the approved regulators.’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

224

Clause  11,  page  5,  line  16,  at end add—

‘(4)	It shall be the duty of the Board (subject to subsection (5))—

(a)	to provide the Consumer Panel with all such information as, having

regard, in particular to the need to preserve commercial confidentiality,

the Board considers appropriate to disclose to the Panel for the purpose

of enabling the Panel to carry out their functions; and

(b)	to provide the Panel with all such further information as the Panel may

require.

(5)	The Board is not required to provide information by virtue of subsection (4)(b) if,

having regard to—

(a)	the need to preserve commercial confidentiality, and

(b)	any other matters that appear to the Board to be relevant,

it is reasonable for the Board to refuse to disclose it to the Panel.’

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

234

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Members’ explanatory statement

To ensure the Consumer Panel has access to the information it needs to carry out its functions,

which is held by the Board, subject to appropriate restrictions.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

210

Clause  12,  page  5,  line  26,  at end insert—

‘(ea)

preparation of wills’.

Members’ explanatory statement

To add will-writing to the list of reserved legal activities which can only be carried out by author­

ised persons.

Bridget Prentice

108

Clause  15,  page  7,  line  15,  at end insert—

‘( )	Where P is an independent trade union, persons provided with relevant services

by virtue of—

(a)	their membership or former membership of P, or

(b)	another person’s membership or former membership of P,

do not constitute the public or a section of the public.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

The effect of this amendment is that an independent trade union falls under Clause 15(4), and

therefore does not need to be entitled, when it carries out certain member services that are re­

served legal activities. The individual through whom the union carries on such services will still

have to be entitled.

Bridget Prentice

109

Clause  15,  page  7,  line  16,  after ‘(6)’, insert ‘Subject to that,’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment provides that orders under Clause 15(6) are subject to the provision at amend­

ment 108.

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

235

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

269

Clause  17,  page  8,  line  22,  at end insert—

‘(4)	All persons claiming to be entitled to carry on any activity which is a reserved

legal activity shall have a duty to make clearly known to each client, at the

beginning of their dealings with each other—

(a)	their professional title and qualifications; and

(b)	the most senior member of the firm to whom they are accountable.’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

256

Clause  18,  page  8,  line  32,  at end insert—

‘(c)	A body, which is not a licensable body, but which carries on a relevant

activity by virtue of Section [Registration of non-authorised managers]’.

Members’ explanatory statement

See Members’ explanatory statement for NC14.

Bridget Prentice

129

Schedule  3,  page  130,  line  14,  leave out from ‘individual’ to ‘in’ in line 15 and

insert ‘whose work includes assisting’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amends paragraph 1(7)(a) of Schedule 3 in order to clarify the category of persons who, if

appropriately supervised, are exempt from the requirement to be authorised in order to exercise

rights of audience. It is intended to ensure that, for example, partners in a partnership can be ex­

empt.

Bridget Prentice

130

Schedule  3,  page  131,  line  37,  leave out paragraph (b).

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment removes paragraph 3(4)(b) from the Bill on the basis that this provision is no

longer necessary given the effect of amendment 131.

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

236

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

131

Schedule  3,  page  131,  line  39,  leave out paragraphs (d) to (f) and insert—

‘( )	P is a manager or employee of a body which is an authorised person in

relation to the activity, and E is also a manager or employee of that

body.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment replaces paragraphs 3(4)(d) to (f), which identify connected persons in specific

kinds of bodies, with a more general provision which identifies connected persons in any body

which is an authorised person. It will, for example, cover recognised bodies which are partner­

ships.

Bridget Prentice

132

Schedule  3,  page  133,  line  10,  leave out paragraph (b).

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment removes paragraph 4(3)(b) from the Bill on the basis that this provision is no

longer necessary given the effect of amendment 133.

Bridget Prentice

133

Schedule  3,  page  133,  line  12,  leave out paragraphs (d) and (e) and insert—

‘( )	P is a manager or employee of a body which is an authorised person in

relation to the activity, and E is also a manager or employee of that

body.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment replaces paragraphs 4(3)(d) and (e), which identify connected persons in specific

kinds of bodies, with a more general provision which identifies connected persons in any body

which is an authorised person. It will, for example, cover recognised bodies which are partner­

ships.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

255

Schedule  4,  page  142,  line  14,  leave out sub-paragraph (3) and insert—

‘(3)	Alterations are exempt unless the Board has directed that they are not to be treated

as exempt for the purposes of this paragraph.’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment is designed to reverse the presumption that the advance approval of the Legal

Services Board should be required to changes to approved regulators’ regulatory arrangements.

Public Bill Committee: 14th June 2007

237

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

110

Clause  23,  page  12,  line  1,  leave out ‘a’ and insert ‘an independent’.

Members’ explanatory statement

This amendment is part of a set of amendments that change the Bill’s references to trade unions to

independent trade unions, as defined in amendment 126. This amendment provides that independ­

ent trade unions will have the transitional protection set out in Clause 23.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Tobias Ellwood

244

Clause  28,  page  14,  line  9,  leave out ‘, so far as is reasonably practicable,’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Tobias Ellwood

245

Clause  29,  page  14,  line  26,  leave out ‘prejudiced’ and insert ‘improperly

constrained or influenced’.

Mr Kevan Jones

263

Clause  30,  page  15,  line  8,  at end insert—

‘( )	that the majority of the ordinary members of a committee that an

approved regulator authorises to exercise its regulatory functions are lay

persons.’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Tobias Ellwood

246

Clause  30,  page  15,  line  16,  at end insert—

‘(3A)

When making rules under subsections (1) to (3), the Board must satisfy itself that

approved regulators have established organisational structures and procedural

practices which distinguish sufficiently clearly between their regulatory and

representative functions.’.

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Revised 14 June 2007