Fierce protests have helped persuade the Solicitors Regulation Authority to ditch plans to charge sole practitioners an additional £300 on top of their practising certificates (see [2008] Gazette, 18 December, 1).

The SRA had proposed £300 as an interim solution pending a comprehensive review of fees to take effect from 2010. It said the charge reflected the extra cost of regulating sole practitioners and had expected to approve the fee at a board meeting on 18 December.

Sole Practitioners Group chairman Hamish McNair said it was ‘good news’ that the SRA had listened to members’ concerns: ‘But the basis for the additional charges still needs to be examined and we await a concrete proposal.’

A SRA spokeswoman said that it had yet to decide a precise fee for sole practitioners, but the concerns expressed had persuaded it to propose charging ‘less than the £180 now payable by recognised bodies’.