I was surprised and disappointed to see the Gazette give so much credence to Gareth Roberts’ completely unsubstantiated claims about late payment of bills by the Legal Services Commission. As our press office made clear before the article was published, payment delays are a thing of the past.

We have exceeded our target to process 90% of Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme claims within 30 working days every month since the start of this financial year.

We have contacted Mr Roberts’ chambers to understand the financial difficulties he appears to be experiencing.

In the first quarter of this financial year, the LSC was receiving on average over 5,000 advocates’ graduated fee claims a week. We have 50 staff dedicated to paying them.

The LSC is responsible for public money and we must have proper evidence to support payments.

Helen Riley, director of case management, Legal Services Commission