Clause 144

Part of Legal Services Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:00 pm on 26 June 2007.

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Photo of Bridget Prentice Bridget Prentice Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice 6:00, 26 June 2007

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. As everyone on the Committee knows, the parliamentary ombudsman always writes back to the relevant Member of Parliament and complainant when a complaint is made. I am sure that there is an efficient way in which these matters can be dealt with that is not too costly.

I cannot accept Amendment No. 298, however. It is not the OLC’s role to ask an approved regulator to review disciplinary decisions. We have to make sure that the Bill sets out a clear distinction between redress, which is for the OLC to consider, and discipline, which is a matter for approved regulators. I accept that the Bill does not allow the board or complainants to challenge a regulator’s decision in an individual disciplinary case, but it does allow the OLC to build up a picture of how well regulators are dealing with disciplinary matters so that they can report any concerns to the board. I do not want to accept the amendment because it could blur some of those issues. Allowing the board to build up a picture of how well the disciplinary arrangements of each regulator is working is an acceptable way forward and the Bill provides the necessary safeguards to ensure that discipline is dealt with properly. I therefore ask my hon. Friend not to press the amendment for reasons quite different to those for the previous two.