Further consideration of Bill, as amended in the Public Bill Committee
[Relevant documents: the Eleventh Report of the Treasury Committee of Session 2021-22, Economic crime, HC 145; and theGovernment Response, Session 2021-22, HC 1261; the oral evidence taken before the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on 8 November 2022, on Fraudulent company registrations: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill , HC 862; the letter from UK Finance to the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee relatingto Fraudulent company registrations and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, dated 21December 2022; and the letter from the Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility to the Chair of the Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee relating to the Economic Crime and Corporate TransparencyBill, dated 28 December 2022.]
New Clause 14
Approved regulators: information powers relating to economic crime
“(1) The Legal Services Act 2007 is amended as follows.
(2) After section 111 insert—
“Part 5A: Approved regulators: information powers
111A The Law Society’s information powers relating to economic crime
111A The Law Society’s information powers relating to economic crime
(1) The Law Society may, by notice, require a person falling within subsection (3) to—
(a) provide information, or information of a description, specified in the notice;
(b) produce documents, or documents of a description, specified in the notice.
(2) The Law Society may only exercise the power in subsection (1) in relation to information or documents which the Law Society considers it necessary or expedient to have for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance of its regulatory functions for purposes relating to the prevention or detection of economic crime.
(3) The persons are—
(a) a solicitor;
(b) an employee of a solicitor;
(c) a body recognised under section 9 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985;
(d) an employee or manager of, or person with an interest in, such a body;