Legal Ombudsman must improve pace of progress
The Legal Ombudsman Service (LeO) has made inroads to reduce case backlogs and customer journey times, however, it still needs to address the speed of progress, the Law Society of England and Wales said today.
In response to the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) 2025-2026 draft business plan and budget consultation for LeO, the Law Society remained concerned about the pace of change, high staff sickness levels and LeO’s proposed diversification into other work areas before its core function of resolving complaints quickly and efficiently is under control.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “The backlog of cases waiting to be assessed, and the average customer journey time remain at unacceptable levels.
“We acknowledge that the Legal Ombudsman Service is taking steps to address its high sickness levels, however, we also encourage the Ombudsman to consider how investigator productivity may be enhanced and how effectively its current resources are deployed as part of the solution.
“We do not support the idea that further investment in resources will result in improvement, based on the outcomes from previous years and therefore do not support the entire budget request.
“Once the LeO’s core operations are firmly and consistently under control, then it may be appropriate for greater diversification of its learning and insight work.
“An inflationary rise in LeO’s case fee may be necessary, but we do not agree with a doubling of the fee to £800. We would welcome the opportunity to comment on any specific proposals regarding the quantum and application of the case fee in a separate consultation.”
The Law Society also raised concerns about LeO’s proposal to publish summaries of decisions generated using a combination of AI and human resources, which may carry substantial risks and costs and would be time and labour intensive.
There is also no supporting evidence to show that publishing summaries or decisions in full is required by consumers or helps them to select a legal services provider. Selection of legal services provider is ordinarily dependent on factors such as availability, location and cost.
Notes to editors
Read the Law Society’s response to the OLC’s draft business plan and budget 2025/26 consultation
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