Ex-council chief exec and PINS chairman to head Legal Services Board

Sir Michael Pitt, the chairman of the Planning Inspectorate and a former council chief executive, has been appointed as chairman of the Legal Services Board.

The appointment – made by the Lord Chancellor in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice – is for three years from 1 May 2014 and is subject to clearance.

Sir Michael has been chief executive of PINS since 2011. Between 1990 and 2005, he was chief executive of Cheshire and Kent county councils.

He will receive £63,000 pa for a minimum commitment of 70 days a year in his new post.

Sir Michael said it was “both an honour and a privilege” to have been nominated as the new chairman of the Legal Services Board.

He added: “I know that I will take over at a key point in the development of the legal services market and its regulation. I look forward to the challenge of continuing to drive forward the positive changes for consumers and new opportunities for providers which the Act has initiated in legal services in England and Wales.”

Edmonds, who served two terms as LSB chairman, said: “Michael will take over at an exciting, interesting and challenging time for legal services in England and Wales. He will lead an organisation of committed proponents of competition, market liberalisation, and putting the consumer interest at the heart of regulation.”

The Legal Services Board is responsible for oversight of the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. It 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.