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Legal Services Commission Business Plan 2011-12
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has published its Business Plan for 2011-12.
It notes that their administration budget for this period is £99 million (equivalent almost to the amount of savings predicted by removing almost all social welfare law from scope of legal aid, both legal help and legal representation, which amounts to £101m).
Legal aid fund savings in the remaining years of the SR10 period (2011-12 to 2014-15) are dependent on the outcome of the legal aid reform programme, that is likely to require primary legislation.
Also noted is the change of status of the LSC, from being a Non-Departmental Public Body to instead being an Executive Agency of the MInistry of Justice. This should mean a smaller corporate centre and a shift in focus of resources on frontline and core business.
Following qualification of 2008-09 and 2009-10 accounts, the LSC say they are continuing to work through their Financial Stewardship programme to improve their financial and operational controls, as well as investing in an integrated accounting and operational system called the Integrated Delivery Programme).
They say that, over coming years, they “will work to ensure delivery of legal aid through our providers for the benefit of clients and at value to the taxpayer” - a sentence that I have read repeatedly and which still makes little coherent sense.
Encouragingly, in respect of improved value for money, they say that they will help providers by simplifying their requirements around systems and processes.