Legal services next in line for Government's 'Red Tape Challenge'

Legal services regulation has become the latest area to be put under the spotlight as part of the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’.

More than 150 regulations across seven sub-categories will be analysed with a view to simplifying or scrapping them.

The sub-categories are:

• Regulating the legal professions;
• Registering a legal interest in land;
• Transforming bailiff action;
• Data protection;
• Claims Management Regulation;
• Arbitration;
• General Justice Regulations.

Comments can be made on the regulations via the Red Tape Challenge website here. The Ministry of Justice said regulations would be scrapped “unless there is a solid justification for why they should stay”.

Three sector champions have been appointed for the challenge: Elisabeth Davies, Chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel; solicitor Nick Fluck, deputy vice-president of the Law Society; and barrister Zachary Bredemear, member of the legal services committee of the Bar Council.

Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: "The Ministry of Justice is bringing together industry, professional bodies, regulators, policy makers, lawyers and analysts to work out solutions and a different approach to how regulation has been managed in the past.”

The Minister added that the Red Tape Challenge built on the MoJ’s Justice for Business: Supporting Business and Promoting Growth paper, which sets out the Government’s reform programme for making the justice system “more effective, less costly and better for business”.

The Law Society’s Fluck said: "We welcome this initiative, and although regulation is necessary, I hope legal professionals will get involved and help reduce the number of badly thought out, overly complex or obsolete regulations on Government books."

The Red Tape Challenge for legal services will last for five weeks from 31 May.