§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have received any reports from the Legal Services Commission, the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors and the Office of the Immigration Services commissioner about the alleged poor quality of work done by certain firms acting for asylum seekers; whether the procedures for weeding out incompetent and exploitative advisers are working effectively; and whether they will consult the above organisations on ways of raising standards. [HL1624]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)The Legal Services Commission (LSC) reports on a regular basis to my department on measures being taken to ensure the quality of publicly funded immigration and asylum practitioners. Funding has been withdrawn from firms if the LSC is not satisfied that required standards are being met. As solicitors are self-regulating there is no requirement for the OSS to report to this department, but the LSC and OSS have worked closely for a number of years to take action against unscrupulous or incompetent practitioners. The OISC has a duty to promote good practice among all legal service providers and has no enforcement power other than referral to designated professional bodies (DPBs), but submits an annual report to the Secretary of State which reports on the effectiveness of each DPB in regulating its members in the provision of immigrant and asylum legal services.