5 June 2020
Rebecca Marsh, the Chief Ombudsman for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has announced she is to leave the organisation to take up the position as the Property Ombudsman in October. Rebecca said: “We have made real progress over my time at LeO and the role at the Property Ombudsman comes at a key point on that journey. I considered whether to continue into the final phase of LeO’s improvement and commit for a further 3 years, but the opportunity to become the Property Ombudsman offered some big strategic challenges that I really wanted to be part of. It is a natural shift, as the highest proportion of LeO’s work relates to property matters and the massive changes in the property sector already underway, now compounded by the impacts of the pandemic, present a real opportunity to effect strategic change. My move now will give the new Chief Ombudsman and Chief Operating Officer the opportunity to pick up the reins as a new team and to take LeO on the next stage of its improvement journey.”
The Chair, Elisabeth Davies, said “I'm grateful for the tenacity and resilience Rebecca has shown in steering the Ombudsman through a difficult and challenging time and in particular for her dedication to the staff. Given both Rebecca’s departure plans and the remaining operational performance issues facing the scheme, especially in light of the pandemic, now is the time to strengthen, enhance and reshape the leadership capability and capacity sitting beneath the Chief Ombudsman. My first eight weeks have shown me that whilst LeO must continue to improve its processes and systems, unless it has good and valued people it will not be able to deliver the quality of service that is necessary and the senior team must be equipped to deliver that.”
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Notes to Editors: 1. The Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales was set up by the Office for Legal Complaints (our board) under the Legal Services Act 2007 and is an independent and impartial scheme to help resolve legal service disputes. When it receives complaints, it examines the facts in each case and weighs up both sides of the story. The Ombudsman is not a consumer champion or part of the legal profession and is also independent of Government.
