asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they will take following the formal decision, dated 27 March, by the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner declaring that for the purposes of Section 52(3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 the Law Society's plan for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 for securing effective and efficient complaints handling against solicitors is inadequate; and whether they have plans to review the implications of this declaration for retired miners, widows and families in the British Coal litigation. [HL3020]
The Government appointed the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) in 2004 as an independent regulator of the Law Society's complaints handling function. Therefore, the Government do not become involved in discussions on the plan for complaints handling. However, the Government are pleased to note that following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 2008-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases. It remains the Government's view that the Law Society and LSCC should work together effectively to deliver continued and sustainable improvements for consumers.
Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the report of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales in the cases of Dennis Rimmer and Norman Dickinson, retired miners whose British Coal industrial deafness claims were dealt with by Beresford's Panel Solicitors Scheme, they will request reports from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service concerning the other 6,796 claimants whose cases were sold by Beresford's to its panel of 10 firms of solicitors between June 2002 and March 2004. [HL3056]
Reports by the ombudsman on individual cases are confidential to the parties concerned. It would not be appropriate for the Government to have knowledge of or to comment on individual cases.
The legal profession is independent and as such complaints about solicitors are a matter for the Law Society. However, the Government take a close interest in this issue and seek regular updates from the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to ensure that progress is being made.
The Law Society tells us that in respect of the coal health compensation scheme, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has authorised investigations into 60 firms of solicitors; 20 firms have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the SRA has won the first three disciplinary cases heard there. To date, solicitors have refunded more than £3.6 million to miners. This figure is expected to rise as more investigations are completed.
It is also our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. Of the 2,538 closed matters, 162 were upheld and 1,139 were conciliated. The remainder were closed due to reasons such as the customer resolving the matter with the solicitor without LCS assistance, the complaint being outside the LCS jurisdiction; i.e. the complaint was against a union, or the customer not responding.
The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they have taken following the reports by the Legal Services Ombudsman in respect of retired miners, their widows and families in the British Coal litigation; and whether they are satisfied with the performance of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service. [HL3058]
The Government are pleased to note the improvements that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) have made in dealing with complaints. However, they recognise that still more can be done. The Government are pleased to note that, following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 2008-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has authorised investigations into 60 firms of solicitors; 20 firms have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the SRA has won the first three disciplinary cases heard there. To date, solicitors have refunded over £3.6 million to miners. This figure is expected to rise as more investigations are completed.
It is also our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. Of the 2,538 closed matters, 162 were upheld and 1,139 were conciliated. The remainder were closed due to reasons such as the customer resolving the matter with the solicitor without LCS assistance, the complaint being outside the LCS jurisdiction—that is, the complaint was against a union—or the customer not responding.
Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
In January 2008 Bridget Prentice and Malcolm Wicks met representatives of the LCS and SRA, Kevin Barron MP and Lord Lofthouse to discuss the outcomes and way forward from the Rother Valley initiative.
The Government plan to provide details of claimants under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme to enable the Law Society further to raise awareness among retired miners following the success of the Rother Valley pilot. This will be on a phased basis over the next 12 months.
In January 2008 Bridget Prentice and Malcolm Wicks met representatives of the LCS and SRA, Kevin Barron MP and Lord Lofthouse, to discuss the outcomes and way forward from the Rother Valley initiative.
The Government plan to provide details of claimants under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme to enable the Law Society further to raise awareness among retired miners following the success of the Rother Valley pilot. This will be on a phased basis over the next 12 months.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to address the concerns of retired miners, their widows and families in the British Coal litigation seeking redress against their former solicitors, in the light of the reports of the Legal Services Ombudsman in the case of Enoch Walker recommending that the Legal Complaints Service should re-investigate all complaints arising out of the British Coal litigation which had been rejected either for being out of time or because family members did not have locus standi; and whether the ensuing conduct of the Legal Complaints Service was appropriate. [HL3059]
Reports by the ombudsman on individual cases are confidential to the parties concerned. It would not be appropriate for the Government to have knowledge of or to comment on individual cases.
The legal profession is independent and as such complaints about solicitors are a matter for the Law Society rather than the Government. However, the Government believe it is important that miners who complain to the Law Society under the coal health compensation schemes get the level of service and compensation they deserve.
It is our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. This has resulted in excess of £700,000 being recovered for former miners or their relatives. The Government are also pleased to note that, following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 2008-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases.
Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies, to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.