Lord Morrisasked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have received in the past year on the subject of professional liability; and if they will set up an independent inquiry with a view to legislating in this area.
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§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Lord Young of Graffham)Representations have been received from noble Lords and from bodies representing a number of professions including accountants, lawyers, surveyors, architects, patent agents, consulting engineers, town planners and consultants. The subject has also been debated in the House.
In the light of these representations, we have decided to commission a series of fact-finding studies into selected professions to establish the nature, scope, extent and implications of the liability problems they face. The studies will look at three groups of professions—auditors; architects/ consulting engineers/construction surveyors; and will be undertaken by independent study teams with standard terms of reference, copies of which have been placed in the Library. Membership of the study teams will be announced in due course.