I am appalled and extremely annoyed at your misleading 'LSC plans staff cull in bid to save £6m' (see [2005] Gazette, 24 November, 1) headline and article. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is not 'set to sack a quarter of its staff'. The reduction in LSC staff, referred to by Sir Michael Bichard in his speech at the Criminal Law Solicitors Association conference, will be achieved through natural turnover over the next five years.

The introduction of our preferred supplier strategy and the increased use of e-business, together with other factors, will mean that in the future we will only be working with the best providers, who are sub-mitting information elec-tronically. Therefore, the resources required to manage them and assess quality will obviously reduce.


I would like to reassure solicitors that the changes at the LSC will not lead to delays. Quite the contrary, we are planning to improve our service quality. If we are only working with the best providers, most prior authorities could be consigned to history.


Brian Harvey, acting chief executive, Legal Services Commission, London