Monday, 10 October 2016
Research specification - vulnerable consumers’ experiences of legal services
The Legal Services Board (LSB) would like to commission research to understand how consumers with mental health issues and with dementia (and those caring for them) experience legal services.
Our aim is to deliver research that is of practical benefit in informing our and others’ work.
For these groups we wish to find examples of what worked well and areas for improvement. This includes steps that help to empower consumers, good practice by regulated legal services providers and points for relevant bodies to address.
The research specification is available on our website here and we welcome bids for the research.
If possible, it would be helpful to receive notifications of intention to bid by 18 October 2016.
Tenders must be submitted electronically by 5pm on 31 October 2016.
Shortlisting will take place on 2 November 2016 and interviews with shortlisted consultants will be in the week commencing 7 November 2016.
Questions on the research specification can be sent by email to bryony.sheldon@legalservicesboard.org.uk or telephone 020 7271 0093. We would prefer to receive any questions by 18 October 2016.
ENDS
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Notes for editors:
- The Legal Services Board has been commissioning research into legal services in England and Wales since it was created. Its research can be found here.
- The Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) created the LSB as a new regulator with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The new regulatory regime became active on 1 January 2010.
- The LSB oversees nine approved regulators, which in turn regulate individual legal practitioners. The approved regulators, designated under Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the 2007 Act, are the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Master of the Faculties, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Association of Costs Lawyers and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants are listed as approved regulators in relation only to reserved probate activities.
- As at 1 April 2016, the legal profession in England and Wales comprised 145,059 solicitors, 15,288 barristers, 6,848 chartered legal executives and 5,697 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The UK legal sector is valued at £32 billion per annum (2015) which is up 23% in cash terms since 2012. For more information see here.