Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. KENNY MACASKILL, Scotland’s Justice Secretary remained as tight lipped as ever in answers to questions raised in the Scottish Parliament over the abysmal performance of the SCOTTISH LEGAL COMPLAINTS COMMISSION, once hoped by many to repair much of the scandal surrounding the Law Society of Scotland’s notoriously corrupt closed shop client complaints process against its member solicitors, which has seen thousands of consumer complaints against Scottish lawyers swept under the carpet each year by the legal profession’s own self regulator.
James Kelly MSP for Glasgow, Rutherglen (Labour) James Kelly MSP, Labour MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen and a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee put several questions to the Scottish Government on issues of performance, expenses, budget and costs of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, which were answered by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who appointed the current board & staff to their positions at the SLCC.
£2million of taxpayers money was lavished on the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. Amid calls for the SCLCC to be made to pay back , the public purse its massive formation costs, from its huge reserves of £1.5 million, the Justice Secretary refused to answer any questions relating to budget, expenses & costs of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, and simply stated any such enquiries should be made directly of the SLCC itself. Mr MacAskill in his replies to Mr Kelly appeared unwilling to disclose to Parliament, the millions of pounds of public funds lavished on the expensive, anti-client law complaints quango, which has now drained up to £2million from the public purse.
The Justice Secretary also refused to confirm the extent of the SLCC’s massive surplus funds of £1.5 million, which are now also the subject of criticism from the Law Society of Scotland & the Faculty of Advocates.
SLCC Board members claim staggering amounts of money on expenses while employed in other quango jobs at public expense. I reported on the extent of the costs to the taxpayer of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission in an earlier article. here : Scottish Legal Complaints Commission refuse to repay £1.7million public funds as board member revealed to sit on Govt. Accounts scrutiny quango. In that article I revealed some of the SLCC’s members were claiming up to £15K a year in expenses while holding other well paid quango positions and ‘advisory roles’ to Scottish Government organisations.
Also in an earlier article I covered the SLCC’s annual report, which revealed it had done little work on complaints, preferring to pass most complaints back to the Law Society of Scotland : Scottish Legal Complaints Commission reveals it passed most complaints about lawyers back to Law Society, has failed to act on Master Policy report
SLCC’s website ‘changed overnight’ after questions were raised at Holyrood over its performance & cost to taxpayers. While Justice Secretary MacAskill avoided disclosing much in the way of details in his answers to the parliamentary questions set by Mr Kelly, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission appeared to shake itself up somewhat, publishing all minutes of meetings since July 2009 which it had previously withheld from publication. The SLCC’s Board Minutes for 2009, and those available for 2010 now published in albeit ‘redacted’ form, can be downloaded here : SLCC 2009 Board meetings & here : SLCC 2010 Board meetings
SLCC Chief Executive Eileen Masterman on a staggering £1350 a week, now absent for 6 months. The SLCC’s meetings from November 2009 onwards reveals its Chief Executive, Eileen Masterman, on a salary of £1350 a week, has apparently been absent from Board meetings and her post since late November 2009, being replaced temporarily in December 2009 by the SLCC’s Chair, Jane Irvine who from papers appeared to take on the Acting CEO role, which was then passed onto the SLCC’s Rosemary Agnew, according to the Board minutes for January 2010.
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission were asked for comment on Eileen Masterman’s absence as CEO, however at time of publication have not replied to media enquiries …
The questions raised by James Kelly MSP to the Scottish Government regarding the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission :
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the performance of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.
(S3W-32561)
Kenny MacAskill: We have no plans to carry out a review of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission at this time. It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the commission as it has only been operational since October 2008 and transitional processes remain ongoing.
Under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007, the commission is required to publish a report, as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year, reporting on the discharge of its functions in that year and such action as the commission proposed to take in the following year. Scottish Ministers laid their 2008-2009 Annual Report in the Scottish Parliament on 8 February 2010.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with representatives of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission since its inception and regarding what issues.
(S3W-32562)
Kenny MacAskill The Scottish Government has been in regular contact with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission on a range of issues such as the appointment of board members, the publication of the Commission's annual report, the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill and the transitional arrangements for complaints relating to the time before the Commission’s inception. Such discussions have been conducted on the basis that the Commission is largely independent of Government in how it fulfils its statutory responsibilities.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission of complaints that it has itself investigated.
(S3W-32563)
Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting its budget and any questions about its costs and spending should be directed to the Commission.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has received from levies paid by the legal profession in 2009-10 and, of that income, how much has been spent on (a) running costs and (b) investigations.
(S3W-32564)
Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting the levy and any questions about this should be directed to the Commission.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has a budget surplus.
(S3W-32565)
Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting its budget and any questions relating to this should be directed to the Commission.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who monitors the expense claims of board members of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.
(S3W-32566)
Kenny MacAskill: The Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is the accountable officer and is responsible for ensuring the propriety and regularity of the finances of the Commission and questions relating to financial monitoring should therefore be referred to the Commission.
The Commission is subject to audit by the Auditor General for Scotland and is required to lay the audited statement of accounts before the Scottish Parliament.
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of expenses paid to board members of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (a) was in 2008-09 and (b) has been in 2009-10.
(S3W-32567)
Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting its budget and questions about its spending should be addressed to the Commission.
You can just tell this organisation is dripping with spongers.How the hell anyone can be paid £1350 a week to sweep complaints against lawyers under the carpet is beyond me.Disgusting!
ReplyDeleteAfter almost 2 years there has long since been more than enough information for any rational thinking person to judge how the SLCC is performing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to learn that the Scottish Taxpayer is apparenlt paying handsomely for someone who isn't there.
The only reason such behaviour is tolerated is because the Board concerned will do nothing to remedy it and they know of course that neither will MSPs.
So much for open and accountable government.
*Kenny MacAskill The Scottish Government has been in regular contact with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission on a range of issues such as the appointment of board members, the publication of the Commission's annual report, the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill and the transitional arrangements for complaints relating to the time before the Commission’s inception. Such discussions have been conducted on the basis that the Commission is largely independent of Government in how it fulfils its statutory responsibilities.*
ReplyDeleteYet Lorna Jack called the SLCC "A Government Agency" so which is it ?
According to MacAskill the SLCC is independent yet the Law Society dont seem to see it that way and neither does the profession at large.
Had a quick look through those minutes you linked and it seems no mention of why Masterman is off - odd to say the least.
ReplyDeleteMarch/April minutes not published yet so they are delaying again.More questions needed ?
The SLCC is unaccountable to anyone ?
ReplyDeleteAre you sure about Rosemary Agnew being the acting CEO ?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was there she was only head of investigations ..
Seems a big step up !
As well as a new SLCC you clearly need a new Justice Secretary as the man's replies are a disgrace for a quango he funded using public money.
ReplyDeleteMake them pay it all back Peter and dont stop until they do.
1st comment.
ReplyDeleteLawyers will be happy to pay Eileen Masterman £1350 a week to sweep complaints under the carpet for the same reasons there is virtually no adverse coverage of the SLCC in the revolving doors of some 'national' newspapers.
Good to know Peter is on the case of this one.
I wouldn't accept those kind of answers to those questions so I hope more to come on this bent lot of SLCC wasters
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find out about those questions from James Kelly to Kenny MacAskill ?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scottishlegalcomplaints.com/how-to-complain/unhappy-with-our-service.aspx
ReplyDeleteUnhappy with our service?
This guidance tells you how to complain if you are unhappy about the service you have received from our staff or if you feel our staff have not handled something properly. If you are unhappy with our decision about your complaint please see the separate guidance, 'Unhappy with a decision?'. If you are not sure, please contact us on 0131 528 5111 for advice.
We know that we can't please everyone and our decisions can disappoint those who don't get the outcome they had hoped for. Whatever the outcome of your case, we hope you will be satisfied with the level of service we provide and the way in which we treated you.
We also know that, as in any organisation, things can sometimes go wrong. Please tell us if this happens, so that we can put things right and learn from any mistakes. We would like to hear from you if you feel dissatisfied with any aspect of our service. For example, if you think we have:
* treated you unfairly or rudely
* failed to explain things clearly or listen to your concerns properly
* caused unreasonable delays
We take complaints like this about our service very seriously. We want to know if things go wrong so that we can put them right and improve our service in the future.
Step 1
In the first instance, please contact the person dealing with your enquiry or complaint. That person will consider your concerns and we hope they will able to resolve the problem. You can do this by letter, phone or email. This person will try to put right anything we have done wrong as quickly as possible. Usually things can be sorted out straight away at this stage.
Step 2
If you remain dissatisfied, you should write to our Head of Investigations, Rosemary Agnew, setting out your concerns. Please mark your letter 'Personal - Service Delivery Complaint' clearly. The Head of Investigations will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and tell you who will be dealing with it. The person dealing with it will aim to provide a full reply within 20 working days of receiving your letter. If we cannot reply within 20 working days we will write to explain why not and tell you by when you can expect a full response.
The person you are complaining about will be told that a complaint has been made and will be asked for their views. They will not be involved in looking into the complaint in any other way. If our enquiries show that your complaint about our service is justified, we will apologise and tell you how we will address the problem. Where relevant, we will also tell you how we plan to make sure the mistake does not happen again.
If your complaint is about the Head of Investigations you should write directly to our Chief Executive Officer, Eileen Masterman.
Step 3
If you are still not happy when you have received our response, you can write to our Chief Executive Officer, Eileen Masterman who will review your complaint and the way in which it was dealt with.
If your complaint was about the Chief Executive and you are not content with our response, please write to our Chairing Member who will review the decision in light of any new information sent and if appropriate arrange for an independent investigation from someone external to the SLCC.
If your complaint is about a Member, you can write to our Chief Executive Officer, Eileen Masterman who will review your complaint. If you are not content with the response and you believe a Member has breached the code of conduct, you can complain to The Standards Commission Scotland - (http://www.standardscommissionscotland.org.uk/ )
We keep a record of all complaints made about our service and record the outcome of each complaint. We produce statistical information relating to these complaints each year.
MUST HAVE BEEN A WASTE OF TIME WRITING SINCE NOVEMBER THEN !
like the rest of those commenting I am staggered at the amount of salaries at this quango
ReplyDeletetime to drop the axe on it ?
@ Unhappy with our service
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke of a complaints system.It must have been configured by criminals !