Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in ensuring public protection in relation to the legal sector and (b) potential effect of a change in the standard of proof used by the Tribunal from the criminal to the civil standard on the level of public confidence in that process.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) is an independent Tribunal which has a statutory right to make its own rules, under section 46 of the Solicitors Act 1974.Following a consultation in 2018, the SDT has now confirmed it intends to make new rules, including a change to using the civil standard of proof in all determinations.