SLCC Budget laid before Parliament

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) Budget has today (Wednesday 8 April) been laid before the Scottish Parliament. 

Set up under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007(the Act), the SLCC investigates complaints made by members of the public about services provided by legal practitioners in Scotland.  The Commission opened for business on 1 October 2008 and although operating wholly independently of the legal profession, it is funded by legal practitioners in Scotland through the payment of an annual levy and charges imposed when a complaint is upheld. In accordance with the Act, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission consulted in January with each relevant professional organisation and its members on the SLCC's budget for the next financial year.

SLCC Chair Jane Irvine commented: "The Board of the SLCC carefully considered the representations made by the professional organisations and a number of amendments have been incorporated into the Commission's final budget."

"We are fully aware of the repercussions of the economic downturn and the impact it has had upon the legal profession. Consequently, the cost of SLCC recruitment has been reduced from £90,000 to £60,000 which now takes into account the probability of an increased number of high-calibre candidates being available."

"The Special Projects and Research budget has also been reduced from £50,000 to £30,000 which will still enable the Commission to take on two major projects during 2009/2010."

"Our recent experience has shown that members' monthly expenses are well below the draft budget figures and to reflect this, expenses have been reduced from £34,000 to £15,000 and the 2008/2009 carry over figure has been amended to £1.4million from £1.168 million which more accurately reflects what the end surplus is likely to be."

The original budget for the Commission's first year of operation was £3,493,823. Operating costs for the year 2009/2010 have been significantly reduced and this has resulted in a final budget of £2,112,149.

Jane Irvine continued: "Following the consultation, a new category has been introduced for Solicitors holding Practising Certificates outwith Scotland and this has been set at the same level as In-house Solicitors which at £91, is a 66.6% reduction on the full levy."

"The SLCC also wants to encourage resolution of complaints at an early stage and consequently the £200 charge for mediation has been removed as it could have been a disincentive. "

"Currently, the economic downturn is impacting upon the legal profession and with this in mind, legal practitioners will benefit from the levy being reduced from *£409 to £275. "

"However, one of the roles of the SLCC is to drive up standards and where a complaint is upheld, the complaint levy will be doubled with the minimum charge rising from **£250 to £500."

*A 12-month annual levy charge for 2008/09 should have been £409 but the actual charge for the 9-months of operation was £307.