The Legal Ombudsman says wider publication could improve transparency and sector learning
Ombudsman Decision Publishing is the focus of the Legal Ombudsman’s latest consultation Q&A, setting out proposals to move towards publication of every ombudsman final decision.
The Legal Ombudsman published the Q&A on 25 August 2026 as part of the Office for Legal Complaints’ consultation on proposed changes to its Scheme Rules, case fee arrangements and the publication of ombudsman decisions.
The proposals would represent a move away from publishing only high-level statistical data and public-interest decisions. Instead, every ombudsman final decision would be considered for full publication.
However, the Legal Ombudsman stressed that the consultation concerns a policy change rather than immediate implementation. Any move towards publishing all final decisions would be phased and is unlikely to happen before 2027/28.
The Legal Ombudsman said greater transparency could provide clearer insight into standards of service, support more informed consumer choice and give the legal sector opportunities to learn from both poor and good practice.
It also said published decisions could provide intelligence for regulators managing risk and seeking to drive improvement.
The organisation acknowledged that implementation would need to address questions around fairness, privacy, reputational impact and consistency.
For solicitors and other legal service providers, the practical significance is that published decisions could offer more detailed information about the issues considered by the Ombudsman and the outcomes reached. The Legal Ombudsman said this could help providers understand common issues, identify areas for improvement and strengthen service delivery and complaint-handling practices.
The proposal concerns ombudsman final decisions. The Legal Ombudsman said it has legal powers under section 150 of the Legal Services Act 2007 to publish a report of the investigation, consideration and determination of a complaint under the ombudsman scheme where it considers publication appropriate in a particular case.
The proposed publication approach would apply to ombudsman final decisions, which are legally binding if accepted by the complainant.
The organisation also addressed concerns about confidentiality and legal professional privilege.
It said protecting complainants’ anonymity would remain fundamental. Although the service provider would be named, published decisions would either redact complainants’ names and identities or be written so that complainants could not be identified directly or indirectly.
The Legal Ombudsman also said the proposals would not alter the legal protections applying to privileged communications or the way privileged information is handled during investigations. Published decisions would be reviewed to ensure confidential, privileged or otherwise protected information was not disclosed.
Publication would not only concern poor service findings
The Legal Ombudsman rejected the suggestion that publication would unfairly affect legal service providers.
It noted that it is one of the few ombudsman schemes that does not already publish its final decisions in full and said the proposal would bring it more in line with practice across many sectors.
Importantly, the organisation said around 30–40% of ombudsman decisions result in a finding of “no poor service”. It therefore argued that publication would not simply highlight adverse findings but could provide a more balanced picture of complaints and their outcomes.
The Legal Ombudsman also said existing decision data does not provide the same level of information as published decisions. While statistics remain valuable, full decisions can give consumers a fuller understanding of the issues involved and support transparency, accountability and confidence in the complaints process.
The consultation remains open until midday on 2 September 2026. The Legal Ombudsman has invited stakeholders to submit their views before the deadline.