The Legal Services Board (LSB) has today launched a consultation on its draft business plan and budget for 2026/27. Alongside this, it has published a report on the sector’s progress against the Reshaping Legal Services strategy.
Business plan 2026/27
The draft business plan proposes that the LSB implement its revised approach to oversight regulation. This will involve the LSB focussing its resources on regulators that underperform and reducing burdens on those performing well.
Meanwhile, the LSB will continue its work to strengthen ethics and improve diversity across the profession. It will also explore what further measures might be taken to protect consumers from new risks emerging from a rapidly changing legal services market. One option may be voluntary standards for legal tools that use artificial intelligence (AI). These would seek to support high-quality, responsible innovation, while helping consumers to make informed decisions about the suitability and risks of these services.
State of Legal Services 2026
Published at the same time, the State of Legal Services 2026 report reviews progress at the halfway point of the ten-year Reshaping Legal Services strategy. The strategy aims to reshape legal services to better meet society’s needs through fairer outcomes, stronger confidence, and better services.
The report finds mixed progress. Consumer satisfaction has risen, more people are shopping around for legal services, and technology use has increased. However, significant challenges remain. There has been a slight increase in unmet legal need, progress on diversity remains slow and uneven, and high-profile scandals have exposed gaps in consumer protection and professional standards.
The LSB will continue to push for improvements in these areas, with the report feeding into its longer-term planning. As part of its business plan consultation, the LSB is inviting reflections on the report’s findings.
Richard Orpin, interim Chief Executive of the LSB, said:
“In 2026/27, we want to make sure that the regulatory framework continues to support and enable economic growth, while protecting consumers from harm. We will focus our efforts on where they can have the greatest impact for consumers and deliver value-for-money for the sector. This is accompanied by a reduction in our draft budget.
“Our new State of Legal Services report provides the big picture against which to consider the proposals in our draft business plan. It shows where we and the frontline regulators have acted to empower and protect consumers, but it also shows new and ongoing challenges for the sector. It demonstrates the continued need for independent and evidence-based regulation, subject to effective oversight. This will be crucial for reshaping legal services to better meet society’s needs and crucial for the sector to continue to drive economic growth.”
The LSB will host an online event on 13 January 2026 to discuss the draft business plan and budget in more detail. Book your place here.
The consultation will close at noon on 11 February 2026 and is available here.
The State of Legal Services 2026 report is available here.