The Law Society is proposing a 5% rise in its share of the annual practising certificate fee.

Opening an annual consultation which runs until 24 May, Chancery Lane revealed plans for a £4.20 increase for individual solicitors in 2024-25.

 The representative body is the second year of a three-year Corporate Strategy which set out four objectives for 2022 to 2025. They are: 

  • promote the value of the profession and provide a compelling member offer;
  • protect the justice system and make sure it applies to everyone equally;
  • maximise our potential by growing our commercial reach, by being efficient and sustainable;
  • be an employer of choice for people who want to make a difference.

Law Society entrance

Chancery Lane: three-year corporate strategy 

The final amount of the individual fee for 2024-25 will not be known until the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which accounts for the bulk of the charge, reveals its own plans.

The individual PC fee this year (2023-24) is £307, with  the Law Society’s share accounting for 27% (£35.1m) of the funds raised. The SRA accounts for 53% (£67.6m), with the remaining 20% split between  the legal ombudsman,  Legal Services Board, Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,  and the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision.

In 2015-16 the PC fee was £320, before falling to £290. it was then frozen at £278 for four years before falling again in 2022 to £266. In 2022-23 the Law Society’s share rose by 15% (an additional £11) and in 2023-24 by 7% (£6). 

Law Society chief executive Ian Jeffery said: ’We have ambitious plans for 2024-25 to deliver more of the services and activities that our members have told us are important to them. In addition to services provided directly to members, our planned programme supports our strategic aims of protecting the justice system and making sure it applies to everyone equally, promoting the value of the profession and addressing threats to the rule of law.

'Our main source of income is the funds we receive from our share of the practising certificate (PC) fee which allows us to support the profession and wider society. We consulted more than 1,400 solicitors in 2022 about the proposal to increase the level of funding we receive from the PC fee over a three-year period. 58% of respondents agreed with our proposal which allows us to continue delivering on our members’ priorities to a high standard.

'We are currently holding another consultation, where we are seeking to understand our members’ priorities for 2024/25 and for their views on a proposed 5% PC fee increase in line with the three-year approach supported in 2022.'

 

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