Your news item ‘Compulsory diversity data' goes some way to explaining why lawyers have become so disenchanted with the ever increasing regulatory bureaucracy.

In spite of its stated intention to do the opposite, this government seems as intent as the previous one on imposing more and more regulation with less and less reason, while creating more and more expense. The point seems long since to have been reached when it has to be asked if the additional cost imposed by many regulatory bodies can possibly be justified by any resulting public benefit.

The article states that from 2012 the Legal Services Board (yet another quango) will require barristers and solicitors to carry out regular staff surveys ‘to monitor the diversity of their workforce’. They will have to ensure that information is collected ‘on the age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation and caring responsibilities’ of their staff.

They will then be expected to publish anonymous results of these surveys. The cost of all the extra work involved will ultimately, of course, have to be recovered through increased charges.

The point now seems to have arrived where, if a regulatory body exists, it has to be seen to be doing something, however pointless, in order to justify its existence. I suspect that most members of the legal profession (and the public) would prefer to see the time involved in this sort of exercise being put to better use.

Perhaps individual members of the profession could be offered exemption from this latest outbreak of foolishness in return for a donation of £100 per head to relieve starvation in Somalia. That would benefit everyone.

John C Emmerson, Wylye, Wiltshire