Compensation Bill [HL]

My Lords, I share the noble Lord’s concern. We clearly do not want to subject individuals to double regulation where they are already regulated adequately in the provision of claims management services by their professional or other body. However, existing regulatory bodies do not necessarily regulate the provision of claims management services by their members. I emphasise that where professionals offer regulated claims management services as part of their business separately from professional practice and outside the regulatory ambit of professional bodies, they would need to be authorised. The Secretary of State would not in practice exempt those who are already regulated unless he was satisfied that they were subject to comparable standards of regulation. Any decision to exempt will be based on a reasonable and fair assessment of the business activities of that person or class The legal professional bodies, including the Law Society, Bar Council and Institute of Legal Executives, are all authorised bodies for the purposes of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. The Secretary of State approves their rules, in consultation with an independent advisory body, the Office of Fair Trading, and the four designated judges, in relation to rights of audience and rights to conduct litigation, and so has already judged the standards of those bodies. In exempting a particular class, the Secretary of State would be required by ordinary public law principles to take into account relevant criteria, ignore irrelevant criteria, and give proper procedural consideration to each candidate or class of candidates for exemption. I certainly agree that we should avoid double regulation. To ensure that no regulatory gaps exist, dual regulation will in some circumstances be needed; for example, where a person or business is regulated by different regulators for different activities. I hope that answers the noble Lord’s point and that he is able to withdraw his amendment.