The long-awaited report by Lord Neuberger's working party on widening access to the Bar was officially unveiled today (5 April). The report sets out a number of proposals for boosting access and diversity within the Bar.

Neuberger tells Legal Week: "Without a doubt the situation needs to be improved – we have the opportunity to coordinate a whole set of proposals which, together, may make a difference."

A key feature of the report is an emphasis on improving the quality and distribution of information available to students, ranging from schoolchildren to those on the Bar Vocational Course (BVC).

The working group hopes that improving access to information in state schools will go some way to making the Bar a potential career path for those from less privileged backgrounds. Offering work experience in chambers to schoolchildren is among the suggestions.

Chairman of the Young Bar, Sophie Shotton, says: "It is important for people to be exposed to the legal system, as many only experience the law through what they see on television."

The report also focuses much attention on the controversial area of entry to the BVC. The number of students taking the BVC far exceeds the number of pupillages on offer. The working party suggests restricting entry to students with a minimum 2:1 degree and raises the possibility of a compulsory competency test.

In addition, the report floats the idea of forcing BVC providers to disclose the proportion of past students that have secured pupillage as well as more radical measures to cap the number of places offered.

Neuberger concedes that such a move to restrict entry could have a negative impact on the access agenda, particularly hitting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Another idea under consideration is introducing a voluntary aptitude test, in order to help candidates decide whether to take up the BVC.

Old Square chambers senior clerk, John Taylor, comments: "A 2:1 seems like a fair benchmark. It would seem unusual for anyone to get through lower than that."

However, Shotton says a competency test could be a good indicator for mature people who have not obtained a 2:1 but have relevant experience.

The working group will be consulting widely on the issue of pupillage funding. Proposals include introducing a low interest loan – a scheme that is well under way. However, some ideas are more controversial, such as returning to unfunded pupillages.

Neuberger says: "One thing we will be looking into is the thorny question of financing. Suggestions to relax the rules against unpaid pupillages is opening up a can of worms."

Another financial issue includes lifting the ban on those with pupillages having evening and weekend jobs. Neuberger says: "We are thinking about letting pupils get a job in a different kind of bar!"

One senior clerk comments: "I am surprised they can restrict someone's employment like that. It should be up to the individual if they want a job."

But Shotton counters: "Many pupils work long hours and at weekends. It would be such a drain to have part-time work on top of that."

Other ideas include providing training to chambers' pupillage selection committees in order to increase diversity after concerns that an 'unconscious bias' exists.

The problems of diversity and funding within the Bar are not new. Over the past 16 years no fewer than nine committees have examined these problems. Many of the recommendations of these committees were not implemented, mostly because they were considered to be unworkable or unacceptable at the time.

Neuberger tells Legal Week: "We are trying to approach it in a very connected, methodical way, from the beginning of education to careers at the Bar, as well as from a social and economic background."

He added: "We are ambitious in the sense that we are trying to cover the whole area and it is usually the most ambitious projects that fail. However, we are not trying to have ideas of grandeur – just practical ones that we hope can make a change."

The consultation period will last until 31 May. The working group is set to issue its final recommendations by the end of the year.

Bar Standards Board set for modernisation

In an attempt to modernise the way in which barristers practise, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) is gearing up for a review on the Bar's professional standards by redrawing the core code of conduct.

The BSB standards committee, chaired by Brick Court Chambers' Charles Hollander QC, has been given the task of examining the code – partly to assess whether public interest restrictions on conduct are still necessary.

The committee, which met last month (8 March) for the first time, is set to send out a consultation to the profession within the next two months with responses due by August.

Hollander tells Legal Week: "One big task facing the BSB is to reconsider from scratch the code of conduct. This is something a new regulator would always look at."

The consultation will look at key modernisation issues such as how to incorporate alternative business structures, which could allow barristers to team up with other professionals.

The review will also seek the profession's opinion on whether the existing restrictions on handling client money and direct instructions from the public are still necessary. Rules on the way chambers are run and managed will also be discussed.

Hollander comments: "There are a lot of restrictions placed on barristers compared to solicitors – reviewing them is important."

Wilberforce Chambers chief executive Declan Redmond said: "There are mixed views at the Bar. There is a swell of support to leave alone what works well. The other view is that rules need changing. We are trying to run a business and are hindered by rules that have been there for many years."

One Essex Court senior clerk Paul Shrubsall adds: "From time to time, you need to review whether practices are in line with modern thinking and current working environments, as long as it does not interfere with what barristers and solicitors do – which could lead to a fused profession and that is not in the public interest."

New head of chambers for Garden Court

One Garden Court has appointed a new head of chambers, Stephen Cobb QC, to replace joint head of chambers, Eleanor Platt QC.

Cobb took over the role last week (29 March) at the set's annual general meeting after Platt stood down after 17 years to make way for younger tenants. Cobb will work alongside joint head of chambers and the set's founder Alison Ball QC.

Platt together with Ball steered the set through a period of enormous expansion from 17 members in 1990 to 53 currently. Platt, who will continue to practice from One Garden Court said: "It is time to give way to the next generation."

Cobb, the first QC to be appointed to the Family Justice Council, plans to steer the set through the challenges posed by the Legal Services Bill. He comments: "Threats to public funding pose many challenges and I am conscious that the set will need careful management to weather both the financial running of chambers and the morale of our members."