The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) forecasts 17,675 new complaints in 2026-27, a 174% increase on 2019-20, the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) said on 3 November as it set out its budget.
The forecast follows what the OLC described as an almost 30% year-on-year rise in 2025-26. It said demand is outstripping the improvements LeO has made and “cannot be sustained within the current operating model”.
For providers, the OLC said LeO will roll out its Model Complaints Resolution Procedure, share more insight and data, and offer targeted learning aimed at first-tier complaint handling. The procedure was launched on 29 July.
LeO’s published annual data put the final 2025/26 figure higher than the plan’s description. It received 14,259 new complaints, a 37% increase on 10,447 in 2024/25.
It resolved 8,199 complaints, a decrease of 1% on 8,270 the year before. It accepted 8,412 for investigation, a 16% increase on 7,203.
The gap carries forward. A paper for the Legal Services Board (LSB) meeting on 24 March said the OLC projects 2026/27 resolutions of between 11,047 and 12,165, against the 17,675 forecast intake.
The same paper said LeO projected 3,218 unallocated investigations for 2025/26 against a target of 2,700, down from 3,275 in 2024/25. It attributed the shortfall partly to slower recruitment after delays in the Ministry of Justice approving the 2025/26 budget.
The OLC board sought £22.2m for 2026-27, an 11.1% increase on 2025-26. The LSB instead approved an alternative £21.3m, a 6.5% increase.
The OLC said this will not let LeO invest in operational capacity as originally intended. It said LeO will do everything it can within the budget to limit the effect of rising demand on wait times and backlogs.
In the LSB paper, the OLC’s own projections put the backlog of unallocated complaints at between 4,939 and 6,732 by the end of 2026/27 under the 6.5% option. Under the 11.1% option the range was 4,348 to 6,160.
The OLC also said the 6.5% budget would not be sufficient to meet LeO’s operational or strategic needs. It projected 3.9 additional full-time operational staff under that option, against 25.1 under the larger one.
LSB staff recommended the lower figure, saying the OLC’s argument that higher investment now would mean a lower ask next year came with no guarantee. In 2025/26 LeO had received an uplift of 11.4%, or £2,051,077.
The LSB separately approved £300,000 in 2026-27 for the discovery phase of an externally led Scheme Transformation Review, and conditionally approved a further £679,121 for the design phase.
Ric Blakeway, chair of the OLC, said the funding is subject to Ministry of Justice approval. He said it also means “a step-change in the way legal providers handle complaints themselves”.
Phil Cain, chief ombudsman, said: “Rising demand means LeO faces acute short-term pressures.” He said LeO will explore immediate policy changes to reduce demand.
LeO’s data show where providers’ own handling is in question. Of complaints with investigative outcomes, 72% had evidence of poor service and 46% evidence of unreasonable complaints handling by the provider. 25% of consumers said they received no final response from their provider.
Residential conveyancing made up 36% of accepted complaints in 2025/26. Immigration and asylum complaints rose 49%, the sharpest increase.
The plan runs from 1 April to 31 March 2027.