ACSeS Welcomes SRA’S ‘initial move’ consultation on Practising Certificate Fees

1. Members of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS) have long argued strongly against the unfairness of practising certificate fees for council solicitors. This is because it is solicitors in private practice who attract most regulatory intervention and who should therefore bear most of its cost.
2. It now appears that the legal powers that be are taking note. For on 7 December 2009 the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) issued a consultation paper proposing a change to the current system because:
   ‘The way in which the cost of regulation is currently allocated among the profession through the practising certificate fee leads to anomalies and unfairness in the context of modern legal practice’.
3. In particular (and in line with the views of ACSeS) SRA point out that:
   ‘The present system is grossly unfair for solicitors employed in local government or commerce and industry, who are charged the same practising certificate fee as solicitors in private practice, despite the fact that most of the SRA effort relates to private practice.’
4. Dr. Mirza Ahmad, President of ACSeS said that:
   ‘As President of ACSeS, I welcome the initial move by the SRA, which appears to be reflecting some of our representations and I look forward to debating the detail of the follow-up consultation.
   Our emphasis will, of course, continue to remain on obtaining value for money from any regulator and ensuring the public interest is given prominence over the self-interests of the legal profession, which has undoubtedly benefited hugely from direct funding from local government with little in the way of return benefits for local government.
   Practising certificate fees must, therefore, be proportionate to risk and local government lawyers do not carry client monies or rely upon the indemnity fund provided by practising fees. Accordingly, I am anticipating - and I will continue to push for - equality with the practising fees exemption applicable for the Government Legal Service. In other words, the practising fees for local government lawyers must be proportionate and substantially reduced from their current levels.’
    

Notes for Editors

1. Every practising solicitor must have a practising certificate issued annually by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority.  The fees for these pay for professional regulation of solicitors and the operation of the Law Society.
2. ACSeS represents Chief and Senior Legal Officers of all English and Welsh local authorities and is the professional association for managers of corporate governance (legal, administrative, democratic, scrutiny and standards functions) and statutory monitoring officers and their deputies in local authorities in England and Wales.
3. The Association plays a leading role in developing governance arrangements in local government and works closely with other associations, Government Departments and agencies.
4. The Association also  provides a network for its members to enable discussion, consultation, training and development on legal and governance matters.
5. As Corporate Director of Governance (and Monitoring Officer) of Birmingham City Council – which is the largest local authority in UK – Dr Mirza Ahmad leads a multi-professional department, consisting of over 800 staff, excelling in Legal, Democratic, Regulatory, Registrars, Elections, Data Protection and Information Management Services. 
6. The SRA’s Consultation Paper can be viewed at http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/consultations/.

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