LSB assumes an oversight role in the regulation of immigration advice and services

01 April 2011

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has today assumed a new responsibility under the Legal Services Act 2007. Commencement of Schedule 18 of the Act sees the LSB take on regulatory oversight for immigration advice and services provided by lawyers authorised by Approved Regulators.

Currently the Approved Regulators authorised to regulate their members provision of immigration advice and services are the Solicitors Regulator Authority, Bar Standards Board and Ilex Professional Standards. However, amendments to the Board’s Rules for Approved Regulator Designation Applications that come into force today allow applications from other Approved Regulators to the Board for ‘Qualifying Regulator’ status for the purposes of regulating immigration advice and services. This follows a consultation on changes to the Rules, our response to which is also published today. The new Rules for applications for Approved Regulator and Qualifying Regulator designation replace the Board’s Rules for Approved Regulator Designation applications.

The LSB has also published a Q & A document to explain what its new oversight responsibility means in practice. As a new area of responsibility for the LSB, we are currently considering our approach to regulation in this area and we have said in our Draft Business Plan 2011/12 that we will consider undertaking a thematic review of the regulation of immigration advice and services during 2011/12.