Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on the support available for trainee solicitors experiencing issues with their training providers.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice regularly engages with the SRA on the effective operation of the legal services regulatory framework. This has included engagement with the SRA regarding the training and qualification requirements for solicitors and how these requirements are responding to changes in the legal profession.

The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of support available for trainee solicitors. It is for the SRA, as the relevant independent legal services regulator, to determine its approach to these matters, with oversight from the LSB. The SRA publishes annual reports on the operation of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which provide assurance on the robustness of the assessment and set out improvements in delivery and candidate support. These are available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/topic/education-training/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on an independent assessment process for trainee solicitors.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice regularly engages with the SRA on the effective operation of the legal services regulatory framework. This has included engagement with the SRA regarding the training and qualification requirements for solicitors and how these requirements are responding to changes in the legal profession.

The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of support available for trainee solicitors. It is for the SRA, as the relevant independent legal services regulator, to determine its approach to these matters, with oversight from the LSB. The SRA publishes annual reports on the operation of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which provide assurance on the robustness of the assessment and set out improvements in delivery and candidate support. These are available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/topic/education-training/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on cultural issues within the profession.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) regularly engages with the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework. I regularly meet the SRA and have challenged them to improve their performance in the context of law firm collapses, including Axiom Ince and SSB Law, and in the context of investigating Andrew Milne. In those discussions, I have underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department have had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on the adequacy of the level of its resourcing.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) regularly engages with the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework. I regularly meet the SRA and have challenged them to improve their performance in the context of law firm collapses, including Axiom Ince and SSB Law, and in the context of investigating Andrew Milne. In those discussions, I have underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on potential steps to improve regulatory performance.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) regularly engages with the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework. I regularly meet the SRA and have challenged them to improve their performance in the context of law firm collapses, including Axiom Ince and SSB Law, and in the context of investigating Andrew Milne. In those discussions, I have underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the support available for trainee solicitors.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice regularly engages with the SRA on the effective operation of the legal services regulatory framework. This has included engagement with the SRA regarding the training and qualification requirements for solicitors and how these requirements are responding to changes in the legal profession.

The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of support available for trainee solicitors. It is for the SRA, as the relevant independent legal services regulator, to determine its approach to these matters, with oversight from the LSB. The SRA publishes annual reports on the operation of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which provide assurance on the robustness of the assessment and set out improvements in delivery and candidate support. These are available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/topic/education-training/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what conversations has his Department had with the Legal Services Board over the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s ability to regulate the professional conduct of solicitors and Law firms in England and Wales.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board (LSB).

I meet regularly with the leadership of the LSB and SRA to hold them to account and discuss key areas of regulatory risk. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) officials regularly engage with the LSB and the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework, including matters relating to the SRA’s regulatory performance and public confidence in the regulation of solicitors and law firms. For example, there has been recent discussions relating to the failure of PM Law Limited. In those discussions, the MoJ has underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected. While the MoJ has not made a separate formal assessment of the adequacy of the current regulatory structure for the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms, it keeps the effectiveness of the regulatory framework under review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the current regulatory structure for the professional conduct of solicitors and Law firms in England and Wales.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board (LSB).

I meet regularly with the leadership of the LSB and SRA to hold them to account and discuss key areas of regulatory risk. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) officials regularly engage with the LSB and the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework, including matters relating to the SRA’s regulatory performance and public confidence in the regulation of solicitors and law firms. For example, there has been recent discussions relating to the failure of PM Law Limited. In those discussions, the MoJ has underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected. While the MoJ has not made a separate formal assessment of the adequacy of the current regulatory structure for the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms, it keeps the effectiveness of the regulatory framework under review.