Law Society and SRA consult on PC fee for individual solicitors in 2016/17

The Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority have launched a consultation on plans to set an individual rate of £290 per solicitor for a practising certificate in 2016/17.

This would be £30 lower than the rate for 2015/2016. It would also mean that the cost of a PC for an individual solicitor has been reduced by 24% since 2014.

The findings of the consultation will be presented to the full council at Chancery Lane on 14 July. As the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board will also consider and approve the fee.

Law Society chief executive Catherine Dixon said: “Solicitors and firms pay annual fees toward the cost of regulation, discharging the profession's public interest role, representing, promoting and supporting solicitors. We are being clearer about our costs to the profession and what the PC fee pays for, and we really want to hear from solicitors about our proposals.

“Our work underpins a growing legal services sector currently worth £25.7bn annually to the economy. This year we have published much more information about the different work the Law Society professional body and the Solicitors Regulation Authority do. We have also published a clear breakdown of how the funding is split between the Law Society, the SRA and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and contributions toward the costs of Legal Services Board and the Legal Ombudsman.”

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: “Value for money, and transparency about how we use the profession's money, is fundamental. I am pleased to be able to say that we have reduced the cost of our work very significantly since 2014 and we are committed to further reduction.

“This underpins our wider reform programme, reducing bureaucracy and costs and helping to address the affordability and accessibly of legal services for the public.”