The Legal Ombudsman has spent £8.3m in operating costs in its first six months since it came into being on 6 October, according to its annual report published yesterday.

The Ombudsman’s combined implementation and operation costs have been £21.4m from 1 July 2009 when the project first began, to 31 March this year.

Of this, £13.2m was funded by a grant from the Ministry of Justice, with the rest funded by a levy on the professions collected by front-line regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The report noted that the Ombudsman had been set up ‘on time and under budget’, and its operational costs for the first six months had also been ‘well within the budget set’.

Ombudsman Adam Sampson (pictured) received a total annual remuneration of £161,245 including pension and other benefits in the year to 31 March, according to the report.

In the six months of its operation, 38,155 people contacted the Ombudsman by telephone, email or letter. Of these, LeO accepted 3,768 complaints for investigation.

Sampson said the organisation had had a cost-effective and efficient start, and was proving to be an effective model.