by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor
Lord Falconer of Thoroton
On 24 May this year, the Government published its draft Legal Services Bill. The draft Bill is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny by Joint Committee chaired by Lord Hunt of Wirral. It develops proposals set out in our White Paper 'The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First' and it will put consumers at the heart of a new framework for the regulation and delivery of legal services.
One of the core components of the draft Bill is the proposal to establish a single, independent complaint handling body, the Office for Legal Complaints. The OLC will deal with all consumer complaints about regulated legal service providers. Our aim in establishing it is to simplify the current arrangements for the handling of complaints, increase the accountability and transparency of the complaints handling system, improve the way in which complaints are handled and increase consumer confidence.
The Government is aware that the creation of the OLC will have a significant impact upon staff working in organisations within the existing framework and it is in an effort to relieve staff uncertainty that I would like to announce that the Government's preferred option for the location of the proposed OLC is the West Midlands.
This announcement only relates to the area of the country in which the OLC will be located. Further work will be needed to identify a specific site, however Leamington Spa will not be considered. This is to ensure that the OLC will be a new organisation independent of the existing framework and can take advantage of a larger local labour market and the benefits associated with moving to a new site.
This announcement will not pre-empt the Parliamentary process but is being made on the basis that this is the Government's preferred option subject to the report of the Joint Committee and any subsequent legislation which may be taken forward.