The chief executive of the Legal Services Commission has resigned after the Ministry of Justice took control of the body following the publication of the Magee review of the delivery of legal aid.

Carolyn Regan, who has headed the LSC for the last three and half years, will stand down at the end of the week. Carolyn Downs, a senior civil servant at the MoJ, has been appointed interim chief executive.

Following publication of Sir Ian Magee’s review, justice secretary Jack Straw announced that the LSC will become an executive agency of the MoJ.

Legal aid minister Lord Bach told the Gazette: ‘The change will bring tighter financial control over the legal aid budget. It will mean the LSC is no longer an arms-length body, but an agency of the MoJ in the same way as we have HMCS or the National Offender Management Service.’

Bach said the change would require primary legislation that would not happen this side of the election.

He stressed that mechanisms would be put in place to ensure independence from government when it came to funding decisions in individual cases.

Commenting on Sir Ian Magee's review of legal aid delivery and governance, Law Society president Robert Heslett said: 'Lack of clarity on responsibility for policy making between the commission and the MoJ has been a significant problem area and the Law Society is glad that the government has accepted Sir Ian's recommendation that the LSC should become an executive agency of the MoJ. We hope this will lead to sharper focus and a reduction in the number of new initiatives, for as in any profession and business, solicitors need to know the parameters within which they are to operate and so can plan ahead to the benefit of all.'

Commenting on Ms Downs' appointment as interim chief executive, the Law Society 'looks forward to establishing a constructive relationship with Ms Downs and the re-constituted LSC. We send Carolyn Regan our best wishes for her future career and thank her for her commitment to an open and constructive relationship with the Society'.