LSB approves fee levels for 2014/15

Author(s):

Regulatory funding levels requirements for 2014/15, including practising fee levels, have been approved by the Legal Services Board.

Practising fees are set at a level necessary to meet the total funding requirement set by the Law Society Council. The fees are used to fund the SRA, to pay statutory levies to the Legal Services Board, Legal Ombudsman and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and to fund representation by the Law Society that meets the ‘permitted purposes’ criteria in the Legal Services Act.

The LSB have reduced this year’s individual fees by £64, setting them at £320 compared to £384 for 2013/14. Practising fees for firms are dependent on turnover.

The Compensation Fund contribution, paid for by those that hold client money, has also been reduced from £56 to £32 for individuals and from £836 to £584 for firms.

In January, the SRA Board agreed that the structure for setting practising fees in 2014/15 should remain unchanged for the third successive year:

  • A 60/40 Firm/Individual split of Practising Fees
  • A 50/50 Firm/Individual split of Compensation Fund contributions
  • Maintaining the Maternity Leave discount on Practising Certificates

A fundamental review of the fees structure is under way, with the aim of implementing some changes in the 2016/17 year.

Posted in Legal.