Legal Services Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13

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Legal Services Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 Legal Services Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 HC337 Legal Services Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 Report presented to Parliament pursuant to Schedule 1, paragraph 14 (3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 and section 38 (3) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Accounts presented to Parliament pursuant to Schedule 1, paragraph 16 (4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 and section 38 (4) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 25 June 2013. HC337 London: The Stationery Office £30.00 © Crown copyright 2013 You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or e-mail: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at the Legal Aid Agency, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ . You can download this publication from http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/legal-services-commission. ISBN: 9780102983395 Printed in the UK by The Stationery Office Limited on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office ID 2558893 07/13 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum. Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 1 Contents Chair’s review 2 Chief Executive’s statement 4 About the Legal Services Commission 6 The year in focus 9 Our performance 18 Financial reports 22 2 Legal Services Commission Chair’s review changes would mean and events were organised at Chair venues across England and Wales in 2012. Examples of Sir Bill Callaghan affected areas dealt with included immigration and asylum, employment, housing, education, and welfare This is the final Annual Report of the Legal Services benefits. Commission (LSC). The LSC was abolished on 1 April 2013 as a result of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of A particular priority area for the Government was Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. An executive agency of the mediation, seen as essential for steering family disputes Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was created to administer legal away from the courtroom. The LSC explained to providers aid from 1 April 2013 called the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). In the quality standards needed to apply for mediation work its last 12 months the LSC made considerable and expanded the number of contracts in this area. Of improvements in administering legal aid and implemented course, quality assurance is not just limited to mediation. major change programmes. So, far from winding down, Quality standards have to be met for all legal aid work the LSC has smoothed the way for the transition to the and there are schemes in place to do this. Work has also LAA. continued to progress on the development of a quality assurance scheme for advocates. The LSC welcomed the We continued with efforts to improve case working continuing efforts of the regulators in this area. especially the processing of applications and bills in a timely and effective manner. By May 2012 we were hitting The LSC also put in place contracts for specialist helpline all key operational performance indicators and this services from April 2013. This was done to meet the continued in the months that followed. increasing emphasis the Government wants to put on a telephone gateway for members of the public seeking As part of our commitment to improving financial initial advice. stewardship we worked closely with the National Audit Office (NAO) to prepare for our end of year audit. A A pilot to test new ways of working with legal aid particular focus was our determined effort to drive down providers was started in South Tyneside. This will error rates and overpayments to legal aid providers. As a eventually lead to more civil online working for the result of this work and our commitment, the accounts granting of legal aid and payment of bills. It will save time have not been qualified this year. I am confident the LAA and money for both providers and the new Agency. will build on this work to drive further improvements. A particular concern of mine as the last Chair of the LSC We faced major change programmes that would put a was that there should be sufficient safeguards to strain on the resources of any organisation. The LSC has guarantee independence of decision making in the new successfully met the challenges of Legal Aid Reform (LAR), Agency. our civil online working programme, and LAA transition. This issue was addressed in the parliamentary process As an administrator the LSC managed the reductions in with amendments introduced about fair and judicious scope that LAR brought as a result of the LASPO Act decision making. This will ensure that the Director of Legal 2012, and successfully let new contracts. Much effort was Aid Casework in the LAA has all the necessary support to put into communicating with providers about what the make important funding decisions. Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 3 I have been impressed by the efforts made by the LSC to smooth the transition to the LAA. There has been widespread recognition in recent years at the huge strides made by the LSC to build a strong external engagement programme with our stakeholders. But this has been matched by an equally strong internal commitment to dialogue with LSC staff and the development of a well trained and high performing workforce. This has produced positive results and I was pleased to note a significant rise in the number of people taking pride in working for the LSC in the staff engagement survey. In conclusion I want to express my thanks to our Chief Executive Matthew Coats, the Commissioners and all the staff at the LSC for their hard work. Sir Bill Callaghan Chair of the Legal Services Commission to 1 April 2013 20 June 2013 4 Legal Services Commission Chief Executive’s statement Chief Executive 2. Creating a flexible, dynamic Matthew Coats organisation In my first year in the LSC, I have been immensely The creation of the new LAA on 1 April 2013, provided a impressed by the dedication and hard work of staff across powerful driver for the organisation in taking the the organisation. They have met the challenges in achievements of the LSC forwards. implementing LAR and achieving the milestones in We have continued to build on the good work that has getting us to the LAA. I feel sure that, through their been carried out by the LSC in recent years. This will commitment, we can keep improving the value we gain provide us with a strong foundation and the potential to within the legal aid system. keep improving as an organisation as we develop our new We are challenging our staff to be as outward looking as identity as an agency. Over this year, we have made possible and to constructively look at how we can work significant strides in all of the three key areas we have better together to improve the day to day running of the focused on: legal aid system. They are responding to the challenge. Our Contract Management and Casework teams have been excellent in exploring new approaches to the way 1. Improving case working and financial they work. For example, we now have a network of case controls management “fixers” across the organisation to help contract managers tackle special problems that are Over the financial year, we have been hitting our targets proving difficult to resolve. month on month on processing times and made huge strides at driving payment errors down below 1% of gross expenditure. We have also increased senior capability in 3. Building stronger relationships with case management to ensure we keep moving forwards stakeholders and make even further improvements to our processing systems. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders. There’s no doubt that 2013 will be a In October 2012, the pilot of our new civil finance and challenging one both for ourselves and providers. We are payment system and online applications began with all committed to providing a legal aid system which is providers in the north east. There will be a phased rollout effective and provides access to justice for those who across England and Wales by the end of 2013. Further need it most. This must, however, be done in a way that is ahead we are committed to getting all crime work online efficient and provides the taxpayer with value for money. as well. This dovetails with wider moves in the justice This has the potential to create tensions. The scope and system and the wider civil service to encourage digital volume of work is falling as a result of LAR, brought about working, the ‘Digital by Default’ agenda. through the LASPO Act 2012, and we must continue to work together with providers to smooth the process for embedding and delivering the reforms. Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 5 That is why I am so pleased with the tremendous effort that has taken place on all sides to deal with these challenges by talking to one another, listening and finding new forums for engagement. We are devoting energy and focus to giving providers the information they need and improving our customer service. At the same time we are working with providers to ensure we can provide the best possible use of public money through the commissioning and delivery of legal aid work.
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