The Bar Council is to concentrate its regulatory fire on junior barristers, with newly-incumbent chairman Geoffrey Vos QC proposing a radical new grading system and continued advocacy training for members of the profession.

Junior barristers will be graded into four categories, reflecting their ability to deal with complex cases, Vos revealed to Legal Week.

The initiative, a recommendation stemming from Lord Carter's review of legal aid last year, is due to be up and running as a pilot scheme from 30 April this year and will be monitored by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).

The venture will initially be rolled out for publicly-funded criminal work with a view to a Bar-wide standard to be in place by 2009.

Unveiling his agenda for 2007, Vos also revealed plans to ensure a high quality of advocacy, as the Bar Council gears up for sweeping reform of the UK's legal services market.

Vos said: "If there is one message for the future of the Bar as I see it, it is that we must devote ourselves to the pursuit of quality… I believe that if we can demonstrate to the public that we provide the highest standards of service, the future of our profession will be assured."

As part of the Bar's quality drive, compulsory advocacy training for barristers, which is overseen by the BSB, will be extended from three to six years – a move that will come into effect this year.

"This is a bite-sized chunk of our overall vision. In the future, we will no doubt look at providing advocacy training for even more experienced advocates," Vos explained.

A 'safety net' for poorly performing barristers is also due to take shape this year with the creation of a Bar Quality Review Board. The body, which will hold no disciplinary powers, will provide a platform for judges, solicitors, barristers and clients to report on underperforming barristers without having to worry about disciplinary repercussions.

A consultation paper was launched last month on the extent of the Bar's regulatory remit, to gauge the extent of the profession's self-regulatory powers.

The consultation paper, written by Vos, outgoing Bar Council chairman Stephen Hockman QC and BSB director Mark Stobbs, was sent out on 16 December, with responses due by 20 April.

Although the Bar already regulates self-employed barristers and approximately 3,000 employed barristers, the Crown Prosecution Service and industry, the paper suggests extending the regulatory remit in the future to take into account barristers in partnerships and alternative business structures (ABSs).

Vos said: "There is a certain illogicality in suggesting that you cannot be independent because you are in a partnership or an ABS. It would be short-sighted if the Bar did not look at extending its regulatory reach. Both the profession and public would benefit from the extension."

Vos, the head of commercial set 3 Stone Buildings, also promised to campaign for greater diversity at the Bar, citing the ongoing review of access to the profession by Court of Appeal judge Sir David Neuberger.

Fears voiced over silk selection timeframe

This year's simplified silk selection process may not turn out to be as straightforward as first hoped. The date for completed applications has been pushed back by two weeks to 29 January, following protests from potential applicants about the short timeframe.

The nine-member QC selection panel, chaired by Sir Duncan Nichol, has already revised the competency framework designed to streamline the process, but potential silks have voiced concerns that the time required to complete an application could be the same week-long affair as last year.

Greg Leyden, senior clerk at 7 King's Bench Walk – which saw six QCs appointed in chambers last year – commented: "It took an inordinate amount of time for those filling out the forms last year – about a week for some people."

Applicants must now demonstrate their proficiency in five categories – a reduction from the seven used last year. A new 'diversity' category has been introduced, while the 'working with the client' and 'working in the team' criteria has become a single category of 'working with others'. Other requirements are condensed into a new category of 'oral and written advocacy'.

Only two of the old criteria – 'understanding and using the law' and 'integrity' – have been retained in their existing form.

One Essex Court senior clerk Paul Shrubsall said: "I expect the whole process is still very difficult and complicated in terms of putting the information together. It is a time-consuming process and last year we spent at least a full week's work filling out forms." He added: "Although they have reduced the scope, it is still going to be a phenomenal exercise."

Leyden said: "On the previous occasions, with seven categories, it did make it rather difficult for those people in the specialist chambers to fill it out – it seemed to be aimed more at the criminal Bar. Reducing it down to five has to be a good thing."

Meanwhile, the cost of application has risen from £1,800 before VAT last year to a new mark of £2,500. Successful applicants will now pay a further £3,000, up from £2,250 last year.

The selection panel, made up of a mix of lay and non-lay members, include retired senior judge Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, chairman of the BSB Ruth Evans, 6 King's Bench Walk's Roy Amlot QC, Jean Ritchie QC (formerly of Hailsham Chambers) and Chief Crown Prosecutor for South Wales, Christopher Woolley.

Standards committee to review Bar hospitality

Hospitality is to come under the scrutiny of the BSB, with the body issuing a consultation paper on the extent to which barristers can entertain solicitors and clients.

The consultation will look into whether hospitality – such as taking solicitors to sporting events – should be restricted or prohibited altogether.

The 18-member BSB committee, chaired by Brick Court Chambers' Charles Hollander QC, will be looking into whether lavish hospitality could be breaching the code of conduct which expressly forbids the giving of gifts.

The committee will also be seeking public opinion on whether solicitors are perceived to instruct barristers on merit or as a result of having been entertained by them.

The standards committee, previously known as the Rules Committee, is made up of 12 barristers and six lay members.

Barristers include Doughty Street Chambers' Christopher Gibson QC, Queen Elizabeth Building's head of chambers Andrew Moylan QC, 18 Red Lion Court's Mark Lucraft QC, Brick Court Chambers' Jasbir Dhillon, 2 Temple Gardens' Daniel Crowley and 1 King's Bench Walk's Philip Marshall. Monckton Chambers' Daniel Beard took over from Jon Turner QC on the committee as of 1 January.

Hollander said: "In recent years there has been growth in the use of entertainment by barristers to further their interests. The committee is carrying out this consultation in order to form a view as to whether it is in the public interest to restrict hospitality and entertainment and, if so, to what extent."

Responses are due by 1 March, with the committee due to report back to the BSB later in the spring.