Bar Council wins lobbying victory in Lords vote

The judiciary looks set to win the right to influence appointments to the Legal Services Board following a successful lobbying campaign by the Bar Council for amendments to the Legal Services Bill.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, is set to assist the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, in making appointments to the regulatory board following a vote in the House of Lords last month (April 16).

Peers voted 175 to 134 in favour of the amendment, which was introduced by former Bar Council chairman Lord Neill of Bladen and marked the first amendment to be put forward to peers since the Bill entered its report stage.

Bar Council chairman Geoffrey Vos QC commented: "We are absolutely delighted and we hope that the Government will decide to leave the amendment intact."

He added: "This will reduce the perception that the appointment could be subject to inappropriate political influence."

The amendment will be viewed as a victory for the Bar Council as well as the Law Society, which has also been vigorously lobbying for changes.

Law Society president Fiona Woolf said: "Ensuring that the Lord Chancellor's appointments to the Board should require the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice was one of the top priorities we identified in briefing members of the House of Lords on this Bill.

"We urge the Government to respect the decision of the House of Lords and not overturn the amendment."

Peers will vote on further amendments to the Bill next week (8 May), focusing on issues including complaints-handling and costs.

The Bar Council continues to lobby for the Office for Legal Complaints to delegate service and conduct complaints handling to the Bar Standards Board.

The report stage is likely to finish in May when the amended Bill will be sent back to the House of Commons.