§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has made of the average length of time that cases were before the legal services ombudsman before an investigating officer was appointed in each of the last three years. [10445]
§ Mr. StreeterThe legal services ombudsman considers that cases are properly before him only when he is satisfied that the matter falls within his jurisdiction and he has obtained the case file from the relevant professional body. The average interval from receipt of the professional body file to allocation to an investigating officer is:
- 1994 four to five months
- 1995 five to six months
- 1996 six to seven months.