Responding to the legislative programme laid out in the King’s speech, Law Society president Mark Evans called for justice system reforms to be backed with ’sustained investment to address longstanding pressures and ensure access to justice for all’.
'As the Courts and Tribunals Bill is carried forward to this session, we welcome the government’s recognition that the justice system is in crisis and call for urgent action to address its deep-rooted challenges. A coordinated, system-wide approach backed by sustained investment is needed,' Evans said. However he added that the government’s proposal to limit access to jury trials 'risks undermining fairness and public confidence in the criminal justice system without clear evidence it will reduce backlogs'.
On the immigration and asylum measures announced in the speech, Evans said: 'When someone is facing removal from the UK, this could mean having to leave behind their family, home and community. Decisions with such profound consequences must be justified, fair and proportionate. By replacing the experienced professional First-Tier Tribunal with a lay appeals body, with no indication of how it would operate independently, the government risks undermining people’s right to a fair hearing.
'The government should drop these plans and instead focus on the Home Office getting decisions right first time.'
The Society welcomed the proposed Regulating for Growth Bill, Evans said. 'Existing regulation does not stop technological innovation in the legal sector, lack of clarity does. We support initiatives and engagement with legal professionals and innovators to drive economic growth, while respecting client protections and maintaining professional responsibilities and standards.'
Welcoming the government’s efforts to pursue a closer relationship with the EU through the European Partnership Bill, Evans said: 'If this is to deliver substantial growth, the government must also pursue measures that support the services sector. This includes improving business mobility and securing a youth mobility scheme that benefits the next generation of legal talent and the wider economy.'
Evans said that the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill represents a significant step towards introducing commonhold as the default tenure for new flats. 'However, commonhold will only succeed if it operates within the realities of the housing market, the mortgage lending environment and the conveyancing process.'
Commenting on the Cyber and Resilience Bill, Law Society chief executive Ian Jeffery said: 'Strong cyber security is key for economic stability and growth. The legal profession plays an active role in minimising the risk of cyber threats. Lawyers help organisations put clear rules in place so they can safely manage and protect their data and systems. They also facilitate agreements that make online and cross-border business secure.
'For the legal sector, increasing cyberresilience is crucial for protecting client confidentiality and data. Our recent agentic AI report and buying new technology guide helps identify cyber security risks and ways on how solicitors, firms, and organisations can address them.
'We look forward to continuing our engagement with the National CyberSecurity Centre to ensure that the practice of English law remains safe, secure and globally competitive.'
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