Clause 42
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
6:00 pm
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
As the hon. Gentleman said, this is an enabling clause, behind which lies the idea that, if an approved regulator failed or refused to provide the information that the board required, it could apply to the court for a warrant to search premises and to seize materials.
The clause gives the Lord Chancellor a power to make regulations about what the judge or justice of the peace should consider before granting a warrant, and how such a warrant might be executed. The Lord Chancellor must consult with or, indeed, receive the recommendation of the board before he makes regulations. I do not quite know whether that answers the hon. Gentleman’s question.