MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
News Release (046/08) issued by The Government News Network on 3
June 2008
SENT ON BEHALF OF
THE OFFICE OF THE LEGAL SERVICES COMPLAINTS COMMISSIONER
The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, Zahida Manzoor CBE,
announced today (3 June 2008) that she would be imposing a penalty
of £275,000 on the Law Society following her decision to declare
its complaints handling Plan for the period 1 April 2008 to 31
March 2009 inadequate to secure the effective and efficient
handling of complaints.
This is the second time in two years that the Commissioner has
used her powers to impose a penalty on the Law Society - it
previously paid a £220,000 fine for submitting an inadequate Plan
for the year 2006/07.
The Commissioner wrote to the Law Society on 27 March 2008 to
advise that the Plan, submitted by the Law Society's Legal
Complaints Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority
(SRA) was not adequate for securing that complaints are handled
effectively and efficiently. The Law Society accepted the
opportunity to make representations to her on whether a penalty
should be imposed.
The Commissioner said:
"It is with regret that I have to
announce a penalty for the Law Society - and for the second time
in two years. It was the extent of the inadequacy of the Plan
which determined the imposition of a penalty at this level. While
the Law Society carries the financial consequence of this failure
to provide an adequate Plan, the LCS must accept the lion's
share of the responsibility as it failed to demonstrate a
commitment to achieve important targets set."
Speaking of the LCS's reluctance to meet targets set out in
the Plan submitted to her, the Commissioner commented:
"LCS has shown a preference for remaining within a comfort
zone and avoiding difficult decisions until 'some point in
the future'.
"In the Plan submitted to me, LCS did not sign up to
improving its standards of service and meeting some quality
targets until the last three or four months of the Plan year - in
reality 2009. The differences between the targets I set and the
Plan the LCS submitted are not, as LCS have argued "largely
minor ones of timing". Delaying of targets to the back end of
the year is potentially no different than achieving a lower level
of performance on average across the year.
"The LCS has provided little evidence that the targets I set
cannot be met and the profession (via the Law Society) is
providing more than enough resources to undertake immediate
improvements. There are no valid excuses for the Plan submitted."
The Commissioner also talked of how LCS needs to start improving
its cost efficiency:
"LCS is not a value for money service with solicitors paying
annually over £31million for it to handle complaints. LCS is
inclined to compare itself to 'gold standard complaint
handling organisations' but its individual casework costs are
high - at around £2,000 per case it is much higher than the
average of other complaint handling organisations - that this
comparison is inappropriate.
"In the past, the LCS response to poor effectiveness was to
increase investment. I have always welcomed improvements in
timeliness and quality of processes but they have come at a
financial cost that is unsustainable. This must stop. LCS has to
address working practices, reduce costs and become more effective
and efficient."
The Commissioner spoke of the long and collaborative process
involved in agreeing a Plan:
"These targets were discussed with LCS and SRA as early as
December 2007. The Law Society's complaint handling arms are
in their fourth year of Improvement Plans and know by now what is
expected. The 2008/09 targets were set to reinforce and build upon
the improvements made in the last three years as well as focusing
on the areas of business where LCS and SRA most needed to improve.
LCS gave indications that the targets set were reasonable, but
then submitted a Plan that failed to include them.
"Without the clear direction and motivation of working to an
appropriate Improvement Plan, the improving results LCS is
achieving in areas such as timeliness may not be sustained."
Reflecting on the changes to be introduced by the Legal Services
Act 2007, the Commissioner added:
"The LCS has perhaps two more years to run before it closes
its doors and the new Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is
established. Transition periods can be difficult times for
organisations with a risk of standards slipping. The Law Society
must not allow LCS to neglect the consumer and profession's
needs at this crucial time. It is likely around a further 40,000
consumers could have their complaint handled by the LCS before it
closes - the standard of customer care must therefore continue to improve."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Full details and background information on the
Commissioner's decision to levy a penalty, including her
decision letter to the Law Society, can be found on the OLSCC
website located at http://www.olscc.gov.uk
2. Ms Manzoor CBE was appointed Legal Services Complaints
Commissioner in February 2004 in addition to her role as Legal
Services Ombudsman (LSO). The Commissioner only has powers in
relation to the Law Society of England and Wales. The roles of the
LSO and the Commissioner are distinct. The LSO examines the
handling of individual complaints by the professional bodies on
behalf of members of the public. The Commissioner examines the Law
Society's capability to handle complaints made about its
members efficiently and effectively.
3. The Law Society has delegated responsibility for complaint
handling to the Legal Services Complaints (LCS) Board and the
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Board. It is a matter for
the Law Society how it operates its governance arrangements and
the accountability mechanisms of its respective Boards. The
Commissioner's powers under the Access to Justice Act 1999
relate to the Law Society and complaints about its members.
Therefore, for the purposes of the Commissioner's decision
and in accordance with the applicable statutory framework it is
the Law Society that is accountable for complaints handling.
4. The Commissioner has the power under section 52 of the Access
to Justice Act 1999 to require the Law Society to provide
information on how it deals with complaints, to make
recommendations about the complaints system, to set targets for
complaints handling, and require the Law Society to submit a plan
for improved complaints handling. In addition, the Commissioner
has the power to levy a penalty on the Law Society if it fails to
deliver an adequate plan or fails in the delivery of that plan.
5. On 6 February 2008 the Commissioner set the Law Society
targets for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. See the
table attached for details of the targets.
6. On 5 March 2008 the Law Society's Legal Complaints
Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
submitted an Improvement Plan for the period 1 April 2008 to 31
March 2009 for the Commissioner's consideration.
7. The Commissioner considered the Plan carefully and on 27 March
2008 declared it inadequate for securing effective and efficient
complaints handling. The Commissioner also stated that she
proposed to consider whether to impose a penalty and if so in what sum.
8. On 3 June 2008, following representations by the Law Society,
the LCS and the SRA, the Commissioner announced her decision to
impose a penalty of £275,000.
9. Additional background information on the Commissioner's
decision and text from the letters notifying the Law Society of
the decision, are available on the Commissioner's website http://www.olscc.gov.uk
10. The Commissioner is currently reviewing performance against
the most recent Improvement Plan, which ended on 31 March 2008 and
will announce in the near future her decision on whether the Law
Society, through the LCS and SRA, has handled complaints in
accordance with that Plan. LCS has already publicly announced that
it believes it has failed to achieve some of the
Commissioner's targets for 2007/08.
ENDS
Summary of Targets for Complaints Handling by the Law
Society's LCS and SRA: 2008/09
[This Annex should be read in conjunction with the 6 February
2008 targets paper, which provides the detail behind the target
areas, levels and measures.]
Strategic Priority
Targets for 2008/09
SP1 Building on, and maintaining the improvement in the
timeliness of handling complaints.
T1 All LCS complaints from the date of receipt to take no longer
than 12 months to investigate and conclude, apart from in
exceptional circumstances.
T2 LCS to refer to SRA within 3 months of receipt all matters of
misconduct identifiable at that time.
T3 All SRA complaints from the date of receipt to take no longer
than 12 months to investigate and conclude, apart from in
exceptional circumstances.
T4 All SRA complaints where there is a referral to SDT, from the
date of receipt to take no longer than 18 months to investigate
and conclude, prepare fully, and lodge with SDT, apart from in
exceptional circumstances.
SP2 Improving the outcome of decisions on complaints.
Q1 In 90% of closed complaints, LCS to achieve a fair and
reasonable outcome with no significant case failings.
Q2 In 90% of closed complaints, SRA to achieve a fair and
reasonable outcome with no significant case failings.
Q3 78%
or more of referrals to the LSO in which the LSO upholds the
handling of the case by LCS.
SP3 Successful Implementation by the Law Society, LCS and SRA of
their improvement Plan for complaints handling.
P1 Priority initiatives to support the delivery of the Law
Society's 2008/09 complaints handling Plan are delivered to
time and cost in accordance with the Plan, and meet all related
milestones and benefits to be realised.
P2 Within the Plan year 2008/09 to meet their delegated statutory
Public Duty, LCS and SRA to comply with the Law Society's
Public Duty requirements on Equality and Diversity (E&D)
including addressing all recommendations made in the LCS E&D
audit report May 2007 and the SRA E&D audit report October 2007.
SP4 Improving cost efficiency in the handling of complaints.
C1 LCS 2008/09 A UNIT COST EFFICIENCY SAVING AGAINST ITS 2007/08
COSTS OF £2,036 ACHIEVING A REDUCTION IN THE AVERAGE UNIT COST PER
COMPLAINT TO £1,952.
C2 SRA to deliver during the Plan year a 5% efficiency in
caseworker productivity.
Improved handling of Coal Health
Compensation cases.
M1 FOR CASES RECEIVED AFTER 1 FEBRUARY 2008, LCS TO FULLY
INVESTIGATE AND INFORM THE CONSUMER, IN AT LEAST 93% OF CASES,
OF
* Adjudication as an option to conciliation
* The
seriousness category of their complaint and the likely size of
award at adjudication
* The amount of distress and
inconvenience likely to be due in addition to any financial loss.
Office of the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner
Zahida
Manzoor CBE
Commissioner
Impartiality - Transparency - Efficiency - Effective
remedy
Appointed under the Access to Justice Act 1999 as an
independent regulator working with the Law Society on behalf of
the consumer to improve standards in complaints handling