The departing chief executive of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) cut the organisation’s running costs by 11% in 2010/11.

Carolyn Downs achieved a £15m underspend on the organisation’s £135m administrative budget, through ‘targeted efficiency savings generated in year against staff, estates and costs’.

The figures are contained in the 2010/11 annual report of the Ministry of Justice, published yesterday. ‘The LSC performed strongly against its key performance indicators,’ the report said.

The LSC’s own accounts, which have yet to appear for 2010/11, were qualified in the previous two financial years because of funding errors and overpayments to providers.

In early 2010, the Public Accounts Committee lambasted the organisation for its handling of legal aid funds. Former chief executive Carolyn Regan subsequently stood down and Downs, a senior civil servant at the MoJ, took over in April last year, after justice secretary Jack Straw announced that the LSC would become an executive agency of the MoJ.

The PAC report contained several recommendations to improve management and oversight of the legal aid fund.

The MoJ’s report reveals that the LSC beat its target of £11m of payment recoveries - recovering £12.2m, with a further £2.7m identified for recovery.

A ‘forensic review’ of claims data is under way to identify areas of weakness and recover more incorrect payments.

Downs is leaving the LSC to become chief executive of the Local Government Association, it was announced last week.

Read the MoJ’s annual report.