CILEx Regulation meets all outcomes in LSB assessment

CILEx Regulation is one of only three regulators to meet all of the 27 outcomes set by the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) performance framework.

The framework measures each regulatory body against five standards – regulatory approach, authorisation, supervision, enforcement, and ‘well-led’ (governance) – and 27 underpinning outcomes.

The oversight regulator’s annual assessment found that the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Costs Lawyer Standards Board also met all of the outcomes, while the Bar Standards Board failed to meet six – up from two last year.

CILEx Regulation improved its performance in respect of the quality of its applications for rule changes and by amending its supervision rules “to remove outdated references to QASA [Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates] and add further competency requirements”.

CILEx Regulation continued to meet governance requirements, although the LSB saw scope for improvement here, in terms of “how CILEx Regulation articulates what work it is doing and why, and how it deploys its resources to deliver against its own deadlines”.

The LSB acknowledged that CILEx Regulation was making some internal changes which would help to address these concerns and said it would assess the regulator against this outcome again in June 2022.

Professor Janine Griffiths-Baker, chief executive at CILEx Regulation, said: “We were delighted to receive the LSB’s confirmation that we meet all of our obligations as a legal regulator. We will continue to innovate and collaborate in 2022 to improve our systems and processes further. By maintaining our high standards, we are able to provide assurance to consumers, regulated members and other stakeholders.”