The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has published its 2026-27 Business Plan & Budget for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO), which includes a strong emphasis on preventing complaints from arising and reducing unnecessary escalation.
Complaints have risen almost 30% year-on-year and the LeO expects to receive 7,675 new complaints in 2026-27, representing a 174% increase since 2019-20. The level of demand is unsustainable with the current operating model, the LeO said.
“That is a staggering increase – so significant that it outrstrips the jump in LeO’s own operational output,” the ombudsman notes in its business plan. “It is beyond what LeO’s current operating can deal with.”
A budget increase of 6.5% has been approved, amounting to £21.3 million. The OLC had requested £22.2 million, an increase of 11.1%. The allocated amount will not enable LeO to invest in its operational capacity, it said, but the organisation pledged to do everything it can within the agreed budget to minimise the impact of rising demand on waiting times and backlogs.
“The OLC Board welcomes the LSB’s recognition of the need for LeO to transform, and its decision to approve additional funding to support that vital work, subject to approval from the Ministry of Justice,” said Ric Blakeway, chair of the Office for Legal Complaints.
“This provides a strong platform to drive meaningful change and will be central to building a modern, agile organisation that is better equipped to respond to rising demand and deliver a more sustainable service for consumers and the sector over the long term.
“Crucially, this also means a step-change in the way legal providers handle complaints themselves.”
The rise in demand for services is consistent with a broader trend across the ombudsman and complaints-handling landscape, the LeO said. Consumers’ growing awareness of their rights and confidence to pursue complaints, facilitated by an increasing use of AI tools, has seen a rise in demand across most areas of law.
Residential conveyancing continues to receive the highest number of complaints, with 36% of the total in 2025-26. Wills and probate account for 14% of the total, with family law representing 10% of complaints received.
There remains “significant room for improvement” in standards of service and complaints handling, the LeO said. Evidence of poor first-tier complaints handling was found in almost half (46%) of the complaints with an investigative outcome, with evidence of poor service found three quarters (72%).
The LeO said it is “leaning into” the challenge to tackle demand at source and will be a “proactive and positive partner” to service providers seeking to improve their own complaint handling and services, but stressed the sector and its regulators must play a part.
“Increasing consumer demand reflects service issues and ongoing failures in tier 1 complaints handling,” it said. “This requires a strategic sector- and regulator-led response.”
Proactive engagement through shared learning, insight, guidance, data and published decisions, together with the Model Complaints Resolution Procedure currently in development, will help improve complaint handling and reduce the number of issues referred to LeO, the organisation said.
“Assuming legal service providers positively engage with them, these resources should help to slow the pace of rising demand for LeO’s service.”
The LeO accepts it “must change and transform” alongside collaborative sector-wide efforts, and the business plan sets out a continued focus on improving the efficiency of its operations while exploring immediate changes it can make to reduce demand and deliver longer-term transformation.
“Rising demand means LeO faces acute short-term pressures,” said chief ombudsman Phil Cain.
“We will do everything we can within the agreed budget for the coming year to drive efficiencies and continued improvement, to provide the best possible service to consumers needing our help.”
