Legal Opinion: Standards

(asked on 24th April 2018) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to investigate and assess the (a) quality of services provided by and (b) growth in the number of providers in the unregulated legal advice sector; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of redress available to clients raising complaints relating to that sector.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 27th April 2018

The Department does not have data on the numbers of unregulated legal advice providers. Unlike the regulated sector, unregulated providers do not have to be authorised to provide services, and there is no effective means to collect accurate data.

The Legal Services Board has conducted research on the unregulated sector, which is published on its website. Regulators also provide information for consumers, including through the Legal Choices website, on the differences between the regulated and unregulated sectors and the different protections offered, including the possibility of redress, and the Department is continuing to explore future options in these areas.

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