Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to introduce further regulation of the making of wills; and if he will make a statement.

Following a formal proposal made by the Legal Services Board (LSB), on 14 May 2013 the Lord Chancellor issued a Decision Notice, confirming that he had decided not to make will writing a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007. In the Decision Notice, the Lord Chancellor indicated that further efforts should be made to see if alternatives to regulation could be made more effective in reducing consumer detriment in relation to will writing.

Since then, the LSB has encouraged measures to reduce consumer detriment and improve standards, in both the regulated and unregulated legal service sectors. The Solicitors Regulation Authority issued guidance for solicitors on will-writing in May 2014, and those in the unregulated sector, including will writing trade bodies, have met with the LSB to work to improve coverage and effectiveness of voluntary schemes and codes.