Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to promote free movement for lawyers between England and Wales and India, including steps (1) to make visas easier to obtain, and (2) to streamline processes relating to qualifications.

The ongoing UK-India trade negotiations present an opportunity to facilitate legal services trade which is a key professional and business services sector contributing to over £34bn to the UK economy in 2022.

Whilst I am unable to disclose details of live negotiations, as part of extensive stakeholder engagement we know that UK businesses struggle with barriers to services trade, including legal services. Stakeholder input helped to inform our negotiation objectives, which can be found on gov.uk.

Outside negotiations, the UK Ministry of Justice is closely engaged with Indian counterparts on shared interests, including India's new legal services regulations, through existing fora.