Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support women and ethnic minorities to reach senior positions in the legal sector.

Lord Faulks

The Government is keen to see a diverse legal profession. Regulation of the legal profession is independent of Government. The Legal Services Board (LSB) and Approved Regulators are responsible for setting the requirements for entry to the profession as well as for continued professional development. These bodies have a duty to promote competition in the provision of regulated legal services, and encourage an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession.

There are a number of initiatives being taken forward on education and training by the three largest frontline regulators for the legal profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation, to widen opportunities for a more diverse pool of people to enter the profession through more flexible routes to qualification. These are published on each of the frontline regulators’ website.