Appointment of Dr Helen Phillips to the Legal Services Board
The Lord Chancellor in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice today announced the appointment of Dr Helen Phillips to the Legal Services Board (LSB).
This appointment is for three years from 9 March 2015 and is subject to clearance.
Members receive non-pensionable remuneration of £15,000 a year for a commitment of at least 30 days a year. The LSB is funded by an annual levy on the legal profession.
The LSB was established by the Legal Services Act 2007 and is responsible for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. It is independent of government and of the legal profession, and oversees the bodies that regulate approximately 147,000 lawyers. The LSB is also responsible for appointments to the Office for Legal Complaints, and for overseeing the administration of the Legal Ombudsman scheme that resolves complaints about legal services.
The LSB comprises a chairman and 7 members. The Board is supported by the chief executive and about 30 members of staff.
These appointment were made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. More information is available at: http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/.
Dr Helen Phillips’ biography
Dr Phillips is the Chair of Chesterfield Royal NHS Foundation Trust (1 April 2015). She is also a member of the Sheffield Business School Advisory Board. Previously she was the Director of Customer Service and Networks with Yorkshire Water and Chair of Loop Customer Management Ltd, a Kelda Group subsidiary. Before this she was Chief Executive and Board Member at Natural England. She was employed by the Environment Agency in a variety of roles including Head of Strategy and, most recently, as Director, Wales.
All appointments were made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. Dr Helen Phillips has declared that she has not been involved in any political activity.