Regulators and the Consumer Panel support an independent review of the Legal Ombudsman’s future
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers and the Legal Services Consumer Panel have both backed calls for a radical review of the Legal Ombudsman, arguing that incremental reform will not be enough to address mounting pressures on the complaints system.
In responses to a consultation on the Legal Ombudsman’s draft business plan and budget for 2026 to 2027, both bodies supported a fundamental reassessment of how the scheme operates. The Office for Legal Complaints, which oversees the Legal Ombudsman, has proposed a 12 percent increase to its current budget of £20 million. This would amount to an additional £2.4 million and is intended to address rising complaint volumes and fund a wide-ranging review of the service.
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers said it accepted the proposed budget increase only with “great reluctance and significant reservations”. It argued that a root-and-branch review should not rule out a complete redesign of the Legal Ombudsman scheme. According to the council, the legal sector and consumers cannot continue to absorb year-on-year cost increases seen over the past five years without fundamental change.
Embed from Getty Images
The council said a comprehensive review was overdue, given the rapidly evolving legal and technological landscape, alongside changes in consumer behaviour. It said the review should be broad in scope and examine options such as outsourcing, flexible resourcing models, improved triage of complaints and greater use of artificial intelligence. While acknowledging that the budget rise may be necessary to prevent further deterioration in service levels, the council warned that the increase was well above inflation and unsustainable in the long term.
Concerns were also raised about efficiency. The council said the cost per case remained unacceptably high, particularly given that many investigations result in no further action. Where awards are made, it said, they are generally low in value and disproportionate to the cost of handling the complaint.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel also supported a radical review but stressed that it must be externally led and fully independent. Its chair, Tom Hayhoe, said independence was essential to maintain confidence in the system and to ensure the Legal Ombudsman could focus on delivering its statutory role.
He highlighted delays in complaint handling, noting that average consumer journey times of 275 days were unacceptable. While the panel supported the proposed increase in funding, it said this was conditional on the money being used to enable genuine transformation rather than short-term fixes.
The panel also urged the Office for Legal Complaints to work urgently with the Legal Services Board and consumer representatives to improve first-tier complaints handling across the legal sector.
The responses contrast with the position taken by the Law Society, which argued earlier this week that only a limited review was justified and that a radical overhaul would be premature so soon after rule changes introduced in 2023. The society also opposed the proposed 12 percent budget increase.