Law Society and SLCC at loggerheads over levy increase

The SLCC published its draft budget for 2017/18 last January. It included a 12.5 per cent rise in the levy which must be paid by all 11,500 Scottish solicitors, many times the rate of inflation.

Earlier this month, following an “unprecedented level of concern” from solicitors, the Law Society submitted a detailed paper in response to the SLCC’s consultation. The professional body described the cost hike as unacceptable when the rest of the public sector was controlling costs and undertaking “strict financial discipline”. The society also disputed the SLCC’s justification for the increase, arguing that recent rises in the numbers of legal complaints equated to only a handful extra each week.

President of the Law Society of Scotland, Eilidh Wiseman said the decision had “sparked an outcry”, adding: “In all the years of consulting on SLCC budgets, we have never known such anger.

“The fact the SLCC has chosen to ignore our concerns is deeply troubling. It underlines the complete lack of oversight or accountability which exists. The SLCC could have doubled or even tripled its budget and those who are required to fund it would have had no recourse.

“We simply do not believe this kind of rise would be suggested or approved if the SLCC was funded by taxpayers’ money instead of a levy on the legal profession. Whilst it is solicitors who fund the vast majority of the SLCC’s spending, consumers should also be concerned as it is clients who ultimately pay through their solicitors’ fees.

“It is clear there is an inherent unfairness in the current system which is in need of urgent reform. The Scottish government is already committed to an independent review of the regulation of legal services. We will continue to encourage Ministers to make this a priority.”

But Neil Stevenson, CEO of the SLCC, said the levy had been subsidised from cash reserves and that those reserves “were not limitless”, making a rebalance inevitable.

He said: “The new levy means that, in real terms, the increase in fees since 2012/13 is just over five per cent for most solicitors, and is actually a five per cent decrease for in-house lawyers over the same period.

“For solicitors in private practice – who account for around half of those who pay the levy - there will be an annual increase of £40 to £356 and for other groups the rise, in cash terms, is much lower. For members of the Faculty of Advocates, it is actually a return to the level they paid in 2012-13.

“Much has been said about the fact that even although complaint numbers are rising – and we need to look at the underlying reasons behind this – a large proportion of those complaints will not be accepted for investigation. This misses the key point that every complaint requires to go through a detailed eligibility assessment before we can decide whether it is admissible.”

The budget is now finalised and approved. The final stage in the budget process is for a copy to be laid before the Scottish Parliament. The budget is laid for information, but is not subject to parliamentary procedure.