The UK Parliament has heard a draft legislative reform order aimed at modernising the operation and governance of Lloyd’s of London.

Economic Treasury Secretary Kitty Ussher says the reforms will strengthen the governance and assist the future development of the Lloyd’s market.

Included in the reforms is a proposal to relax rules that restrict certain appointments to the Lloyd’s board, as well as those governing the composition of various Lloyd’s committees.

For example, a restriction that requires managing agents to generally only accept business from a Lloyd’s broker will probably be removed.

The Governor of the Bank of England would also no longer be required to approve appointments of Lloyd’s Council members.

The draft order follows a period of public consultation. The order will now go before the House of Commons and House of Lords for debate.

Lloyd’s spokesman Bart Nash told insuranceNEWS.com.au the reforms would help Lloyd’s comply with modern corporate governance standards.

“The reforms would enable Lloyd’s to determine its distribution strategy without having to work within the confines of statutory restrictions that do not apply to our competitors,” he said.