However, the Law Society has warned this could impact firms who are already facing inflationary pressures.
The SRA’s draft business plan and budget 2023-24, which closed for consultation last week, would raise the total sum collected from practising certificate fees from £60.5m last year to £67.6m in the October 2023 round. The draft plan confirms the element of the fee used to fund the SRA would rise to £162 from last year’s £151.
Law Society president Lubna Shuja welcomed the SRA’s continued focus on equality, diversity and inclusion, technology and innovation, and anti-money laundering, which aligned with Law Society priorities.
However, Shuja said the budget increase was ‘significant.
‘Given that many firms are facing inflationary pressures, it is vitally important that the SRA is focused on efficiency savings and costs are controlled to avoid unnecessary pressure on the practising certificate fee.’
