Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on cultural issues within the profession.

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, with oversight from the Legal Services Board.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) regularly engages with the SRA on the operation of the legal services regulatory framework. I regularly meet the SRA and have challenged them to improve their performance in the context of law firm collapses, including Axiom Ince and SSB Law, and in the context of investigating Andrew Milne. In those discussions, I have underscored the importance of learning lessons, addressing risks to consumers, and ensuring public confidence in legal services regulation is protected.