Proposals for practising fee levels for 2021/22 have been approved by the Legal Services Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced today. The individual fee will be £266, down £12 from last year. Firm fees are calculated based on turnover.

Practising fees are used to pay statutory levies to the LSB, the legal ombudsman, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision, and to fund representation by the Law Society, as well as the work of the SRA.

Fees are set at a level necessary to meet this total funding requirement. The SRA’s funding requirement for 2021/22 is £56.8m. The funding requirement for all organisations is £104.3m, a £3.1m increase from £101.2m in 2020/21. However, the continued rise in the number of practising solicitors means that individual fees will be less than last year.

Compensation Fund contributions for the next practising year are also set to fall, from £50 last year to £40 this year and for firms holding client money from £950 to £760. The fees are collected in October. 

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘This has been the second year of what has been a difficult time for everyone. I am pleased to confirm a fall in both practising fees and compensation fund contributions at a time when we know that the long-term implications of the pandemic are uncertain for many businesses.’

The agreed SRA budget and funding will allow the SRA to pursue the priorities laid down in its 2021/22 business plan and its three-year Corporate Strategy.