SRA scraps enrolment and associated fee amid changes to training regulations

As of 1 July, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has put into force some changes to its education and training regulations.

Law students are no longer required to enrol with the SRA before completing the Legal Practice Course (LPC), which means that the £80 enrolment fee to do so has been scrapped. In addition, the SRA’s fee to take the LPC has been reduced from £120 to £15.

From 1 August, trainee solicitors will be subject to the National Minimum Wage regulations, meaning that firms will be able to pay their trainees at the Minimum Wage rate if they choose. However, it is expected that many firms will continue to pay considerably more than this.

Under the new regime, the SRA will also no longer stipulate the terms of training contracts, meaning that firms will have greater freedom to run their own training formats.

Elsewhere, the SRA has introduced a new 'equivalent means' test, which allows candidates to seek admission as solicitors if they can demonstrate that they have met the SRA's requirements through other qualifications or experience.

In addition the checking of the character and suitability of individuals has been retained, while individuals are now also required to disclose any issues related to this before training commences - students can apply for a check before they start the LPC if they want to.

Here is a link to a full summary of the SRA's regulatory changes, while the changes have also been incorporated in the latest SRA Handbook, which was published on its website on 1 July. The training amendments come in the context of broader regulatory reforms designed to make the SRA’s requirements “more proportionate and targeted and so reduce the cost and burden of regulation”.