SLCC hosts sanctions round table

Experts from a range of professional regulators came together at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) this week to discuss sanctions in professional regulation – actions taken when an individual doesn’t meet their professional obligations. They were joined by representatives from consumer and equality groups along with other stakeholders.

The round table on sanctions was structured around the draft guide produced by the SLCC’s oversight team to aid the legal profession organisations in drafting their own guidance.

The discussion covered a range of topics including the different functions of sanctions – punitive, restorative, preventative. It also covered some more practical aspects such as qualitative assessment of the effectiveness of training and supervision orders.

The need to manage the expectations of consumers in regulatory processes was also discussed –whether action is taken to provide redress to those affected or to protect the public. Transparency in decision making was also highlighted, including the trend to publish when professionals are sanctioned.

SLCC chief executive Neil Stevenson thanked the attendees, saying: “We’re hugely grateful for the input of those who attended. There was a lot covered and some very useful lessons for us, we’re now considering how we can build these into our sanctions guide.

“Additionally, with talk of legislative change in the legal sector, and some position papers already published by other bodies, we discussed our plans to publish a paper of our own. We will also use this expert external input on sanctions to inform our position.”