The Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman
391.The Ombudsman will be funded through the Department for Constitutional Affairs’ vote as it is likely to be an associated office of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
392.The cost of establishing the Ombudsman office will be approximately £0.4m. £0.06m was incurred in 2004-5 and the remainder will be incurred in 2005-6
393.The maximum annual cost of running the Ombudsman’s office will be £1.4m. This is dependent on whether the Ombudsman is based in existing Department of Constitutional Affairs estate or landlord serviced estate. The cost mentioned above is based on the Ombudsman being located in a landlord serviced building. The current Commission for Judicial Appointments, which currently carries out a part of the function that will be covered by the Ombudsman, costs the Department of Constitutional Affairs approximately £340k per annum. The Commission for Judicial Appointments is based in Department for Constitutional Affairs estate.