Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in investigating complaints on solicitor conduct.

The legal profession in England and Wales operates independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. More information regarding the conduct solicitors must adhere to can be found here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors/.

As part of its role, the SRA investigates consumers’ complaints when allegations of solicitor misconduct are made and has a number of disciplinary powers, including the power to issue fines and refer an individual to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can suspend or strike a solicitor off the roll.

Given the sector’s independence, it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to interfere with decisions made by the SRA during these investigations, or its processes.

If individuals remain unhappy with the decisions reached by the SRA, they can contact their complaints team at: complaintsteam@sra.org.uk or via https://www.sra.org.uk/home/contact-us/.

Whilst the LSB oversees the regulators (such as the SRA and the BSB) and ensures they fulfil their statutory responsibilities, it does not have jurisdiction to review regulators’ decisions or process on individual cases.