Chief Executive’s Report Alan Kershaw in
his Chair’s foreword has referred to the significant
achievements of IPS during 2013 particularly, of course, gaining LSB approval for the various rights applications. Indeed, most of the Board’s objectives for 2013/14 set out in its strategy were met during the year and we made significant progress towards fulfilling the statement of intent which describes how the Board sees IPS operating in 2018. The following pages give further detail on the achievements, but I wanted to pay tribute to those who have worked so hard to make these achievements possible and those we have worked with on the way.
Although, after submitting the rights applications to the LSB at the end of March, there was an element of the phoney war while the LSB got to grips with the detail, in reality the intensity of all of IPS’ work, not just on the applications, never slackened. The staff appointments made in 2012 proved invaluable, complementing colleagues already in place and bringing essential new skills. But other staff also delivered mightily to make those achievements possible. Special mention must go to Baljeet Basra, central to pretty much all of the developmental and maintenance work and whose energy and determination were inexhaustible and Vicky Purtill who took us forward on a number of the key projects which completed during the year - work based learning, CPD, legal education and training review and QASA. Whilst so much of our work is developing and as we look forward to the future, we have to balance constantly current resource requirements and future needs. During the year we identified the need for additional appointments to deliver on the new work and to replace colleagues who were moving on. Those appointments have themselves quickly made a real difference in areas such as risk assessment, consumer engagement and complaints handling in particular. It was particularly pleasing to be able to give opportunities to young people coming through apprenticeship and other new start schemes, and to see them flourish.
During the year CILEx continued to support fully the work of IPS, albeit with a rigorous and questioning eye on resources and costs. CILEx has remained steadfast in its commitment to achieving the objective it set itself a good number of years ago, of becoming an Approved Regulator for a wide range of practice rights. The Protocols continued to provide an effective framework for the vital co-operation between the two organisations.
We have of course worked closely with the other regulatory bodies during the year, particularly the SRA and BSB on QASA and LETR and, latterly, the development of the Legal Choices web-site, and IPREG on regulatory activities generally. I have found those working contacts collegiate and constructive, even when our organisational interests were not entirely aligned. I hope those organisations have found our contribution to those activities equally valuable. I commented in my report last year on how invaluable dialogue with the LSB had been whilst we were preparing our applications. I am pleased to say that dialogue continued during 2013, not only with the LSB itself, but also with the Consumer Panel and the Ombudsman, and was instrumental in helping IPS and CILEx develop as a future entity regulator.
The IPS Board of course drove us all on mercilessly. They take ownership of
the strategy and hold myself and my colleagues to account. During the year two of the original Board members, Thelma Brown and Andrew Middleton, completed their second term of office and stepped down from the Board. Thelma brought great drive and insight as a Fellow of CILEx to the registration portfolio with responsibility for the work based learning project; whilst Andrew brought with him considerable experience of education and regulatory standards. They will be missed, but have able successors in Harvey Sandercock and David Gilbertson.
Only two of the original Board members, appointed in 2008, remain now, Sandra Barton and Hilary Daniels. In reviewing the IPS succession plan as part of the practice rights activity, it was apparent that there was a risk of IPS’ Board being relatively ‘new’ during the period when rights applications were likely to come to fruition. Consequently, the Board recommended, and CILEx agreed, that the Chairman should continue in post for an additional year to June 2015 to provide continuity and experience during that period.
At what feels like a pivotal moment in the regulation of Chartered Legal Executives, I should echo what Alan Kershaw has said: celebrating our achievements in 2013 is not about the greater glory of IPS, or even CILEx; it is about trying to ensure consumers and clients can access competent, innovative and cost-effective legal services and that Chartered Legal Executives and other CILEx members can have the opportunities they earn to play a full part in providing those services.
Ian Watson Chief Executive
Professional standards for specialist lawyers
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