Clause 91
Legal Services Bill [Lords]
1:15 pm
Simon Hughes (Party President, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)
May I ask a supplementary question? Is it envisaged that the licensing authority would regularly expect to see the people proposed for the posts of head of legal services and head of finance and administration, to satisfy itself, face to face as it were, that they were suitable? There is all the difference in the world between having a bit of paper that may or may not be true when it comes to people’s degrees or qualifications and seeing the people themselves. Furthermore, will there always be checks to ensure that claims that applicants make about qualifications, degrees and competence are accurate, so that we do not have the old story of the bogus degree, or the degree from the non-existent institution, or the qualification from an accountancy school that does not exist or that was closed down because it was fraudulent? Are we absolutely certain that those checks will be really rigorous and that people will not slip through the net on the basis of claims that are not true?