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A ban on referral fees is back on the Ministry of Justice’s agenda, a government adviser revealed yesterday. However, Mark Boleat told the Claims Standards Council conference in Manchester that he believed the arguments against a ban are “compelling”.

The role of price comparison and customer review websites are set to come under scrutiny from the Legal Services Board as part of efforts to help consumers judge the technical quality of the legal advice they receive. It will also consider whether a “badge” would distinguish regulated and non-regulated providers.

The Legal Services Board is considering whether to consolidate the disciplinary regimes run by all the different legal regulators, it has emerged. Recent events “suggest we should explore the feasibility of rationalising existing mechanisms sooner rather than later”.

City firm Hogan Lovells and 39 Essex Street chambers have retained their roles as general legal advisers to the Legal Services Board. The pair, as well as five specialist providers, have been reappointed following an internal review on their existing terms and rates until 31 March 2012.

The Legal Services Board has an “absolute right” to intervene whenever it believes frontline regulators are dragging their heels, such as acting to improve diversity, the Legal Services Board chairman, David Edmonds, told the Legal Futures conference.