Is the Cabinet Secretary’s discretion to approve or reject a proposed or reviewed rule subject to any legal constraints?
A. Yes. He has to ensure that there is no breach of the Community obligations of the United Kingdom, in this case the obligations in article 25 of the Services Directive. Multi-disciplinary practices can be allowed only after a regulatory scheme has been devised and put in place that will ensure: • that conflicts of interest and incompatibilities between certain activities are prevented; and • that the independence and impartiality required for certain activities is secured; and • that the rules governing professional ethics and conduct for different activities are compatible with one another, especially as regards matters of professional secrecy (which, in the United Kingdom, covers “legal professional privilege”).
