Law Commission (Triennial Review)

Thursday 20th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Justice, Lord Faulks, has made the following written ministerial statement:

I am pleased to announce the publication of the report of stage 2 of the triennial review of the Law Commission. I have placed a copy in the Libraries of both Houses. When the stage 1 report was published in July 2013 the Government undertook to report back to Parliament on the outcome of stage 2 of the review.

In line with Cabinet Office principal aims for triennial reviews, stage 2 has involved an assessment of the Law Commission’s governance arrangements against best practice standards to ensure that, as a public body, it is complying with recognised principles of good corporate governance.

The review identified a number of areas of good practice by the Law Commission and its sponsor team at the Ministry of Justice. In particular, it commended the Commission’s open and transparent approach to law reform and policy making.

Although there are few problems in practice, the review identified there was scope for improvement in the corporate governance arrangements in place in relation to the Commission and made a number of recommendations. These include developing a framework document that will codify the Commission’s terms of reference and sponsorship arrangements with the Ministry of Justice, as well as updating the Commission’s code of best practice to ensure it is line with current guidance. Progress towards implementation will be reviewed six months after the publication of the stage 2 report.