The Legal Services Commission (Number of Commissioners) Order 2011

Statutory Instruments

2011 No. 1191

Legal Services Commission, England And Wales

The Legal Services Commission (Number of Commissioners) Order 2011

Made

28th April 2011

Laid before Parliament

3rd May 2011

Coming into force

30th May 2011

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999(1), makes the following Order.

1.  This Order may be cited as The Legal Services Commission (Number of Commissioners) Order 2011 and comes into force on 30^th May 2011.

2.  In section 1(3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999—

(a) in paragraph (a), for “seven” substitute “four”; and

(b) in paragraph (b), for “twelve” substitute “six”.

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

J Djanogly

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Ministry of Justice

28th April 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 1(3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 provides that the Legal Services Commission (‘the Commission’), which administers civil and criminal legal aid services in England and Wales, must consist of not fewer than seven members and not more than twelve members. Section 1(3) provides that the Lord Chancellor may substitute for either or both of these numbers such other numbers as he thinks appropriate.

This Order reduces the minimum number of members of the Commission from seven to four and reduces the maximum number from twelve to six.

(1)

1999 c. 22 The reference in section 1(3) to the Lord Chancellor was changed to the Secretary of State by S.I. 2003/1887 and changed back to the Lord Chancellor by S.I. 2005/3429.