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Appointment details

Legal Services Consumer Panel Members

Summary

• Organisation: Legal Services Board
• Sponsor department: Ministry of Justice
• Location: London
• Sectors: Information and Communication
• Skills: Legal, Judicial, Regulation
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Time commitment: 15 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £4,500 per annum
• Length of term: Panel members are appointed for a term of three years with the possibility of a second term of up to three years.
• Application deadline: 11:59pm on 16 July 2023

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   15 June 2023

2. Application deadline

   11:59pm on 16 July 2023

3. Sifting date

   31 July 2023

4. Interviews expected to end on

   3 September 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

The Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP, ‘the Panel’) exists to represent the interest of consumers in the regulation of legal services. 

The Panel was established by the Legal Services Board (LSB), the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales, under the Legal Services Act 2007. As a permanent, discrete champion for consumers we have an essential responsibility to ensure that regulators pay full attention to the user perspective. 

The Panel provides high quality, evidence-based advice to the LSB, in order to help them make decisions that are shaped around the needs of users. It has a remit to represent the interests of the many different consumers of legal services, including small businesses and charities. Within this it has committed to prioritise the needs of more vulnerable groups of consumers. The Panel has legal powers to publish its advice and the LSB has a legal duty to explain its reasons when it disagrees with such advice.

LSCP's Vision 

The vision is for a market where everyone can access high quality and affordable legal services that meet their needs: 

• A competitive legal services market where consumers are empowered and have easy access to high quality legal advice at a fair price; 
• All consumers have an equal access to legal services regardless of their personal circumstances; 
• Regulatory bodies have processes enabling them to take decisions which are in the consumer interest; 
• Consumers receive legal advice from a diverse and competent workforce; 
• Consumer complaints are resolved fairly, quickly and cost-effectively. 

Introduction from the Chair

Dear candidate, 

Thank you for your interest in finding out more about becoming a member of the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) and working with us to ensure the public interest is at the heart of legal services regulation. 

If you’ve ever needed legal advice, you may have experienced how challenging it can be to compare providers based on price and quality of services. You may not have known whether the provider was regulated or what you should do if you were not satisfied with the service. Or perhaps you are one of the one in three people who have an unmet legal need each year. 

The legal services market does not currently work for everyone. The Legal Services Board (LSB) and LSCP are committed to changing this and ensuring everyone who has a legal problem gets the help they need. 

The LSB has published a consumer-focused strategy to reshape legal services to better meet society’s needs. It puts the public and consumers at the centre of regulation. The LCSP contributed to its development and aligned its work with the objectives of fairer outcomes, stronger confidence, and better services. 

The LSB and LSCP are working together and with others across the sector to listen to Citizens and encourage the sector to become more diverse, competitive and professional, and to better serve the public. 

We are looking for two new members to join the Panel, which draws together informed and lay voices to create a rich source of skills, experience and opinions. Panel members lead key work streams in between Panel meetings and champion its work externally. It is only through collaboration that we will achieve our joint vision, so we want to appoint someone committed to this ‘hands on’ working ethos. 

To ensure the Panel is as representative as possible, we are actively seeking applications from all sectors and sections of the community. 

Alan Kershaw

Chair LSB

Appointment description

The Consumer Panel meets around five or six times a year. Members are not asked to act either as trustees or as traditional public sector non-executive directors but to contribute directly their experience, knowledge and understanding of the needs and experiences of both individual and small business consumers of legal services. 

Each Panel member takes a leadership role on specific areas of the work programme, working closely with secretariat colleagues (2 FTE’s). The time Panel members contribute in between actual Panel meetings is therefore extremely important and vital to enable us to make full use of their knowledge and experiences. 

As well as advising the LSB, the Panel also seeks to influence the Legal Ombudsman, the regulators and representative bodies and Government where appropriate.

Person specification

Essential criteria

The Panel has an advisory role. Its key activities are to:

• help the LSB and the OLC to understand fully, and take account of, the interests of consumers in its policy development and decisions; 
• respond to relevant consultations as appropriate; 
• carry out and commission research, as agreed with the LSB, and gather other intelligence and evidence to understand the consumer experience of the legal services market; 
• provide the LSB and the OLC with feedback from a consumer perspective on the effectiveness of their policies and practices; 
• help the approved regulators develop their own approach to consumer engagement to inform their work; 
• speak out publicly on behalf of consumers as appropriate in order to positively influence outcomes for consumers of legal services; and 
• maintain an overview of developments in the legal services market, and related developments affecting consumers in other markets, in order to best deliver the activities listed above.

Desirable criteria

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with experience in ONE or both of the following areas:

• expertise in regulation, particularly from outside of the legal sector; 
• expertise as a consumer champion with experience in consumer policy.

For both roles, the following criteria also apply:

• understanding of, and a deep-seated commitment to, promoting and protecting the interests of consumers and the wider community; 
• proven commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion; 
• the ability to listen and challenge in a constructive manner, providing an objective and independent point of view; 
• the ability to work as part of a team, working collaboratively and cooperatively; 
• a highly developed ability to take account of different perspectives as part of a collegiate decision-making process and to take responsibility for decisions made; 
• excellent communication and influencing skills; 
• some knowledge of legal services and legal regulation is desirable.

Application and selection process

How to apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please supply the following;

• A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements. 
• A covering letter (maximum 2 sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the person specification. Please note that the covering letter is an important part of your application and will be assessed as part of it. 
• Details of two professional referees together with a brief statement of their relationship to you and over what period of time they have known you. Referees will not be contacted without your prior consent. 

 If you have any questions or would like to arrange a call to discuss the role please email LSCP@inclusiveboards.co.uk or call 0207 267 8369.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

Eligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact  LSCP@inclusiveboards.co.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. 

As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
• making adaptations to interview locations;
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
• giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life. These are:

1. Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity - Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability - Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness - Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
7. Leadership - Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; 

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid. 

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid. 

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact Ed Bowie of the public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at publicappointmentsteam@justice.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

LSB's   Privacy Notice

Contact details

For further information, please contact LSCP@inclusiveboards.co.uk.

Attachments

• Candidate Information Pack