LSB consults on appeal arrangements for SRA as a licensing authority

05 May 2011

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has today published a consultation on proposals to establish the appeals mechanism in relation to decisions made by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should it be designated as a Licensing Authority under the Alternative Business Structures (ABS) framework. Annexed to the consultation is an impact assessment.

Licensing Authorities (LAs) will be at the centre of the ABS licensing system. Bodies granted the power to act as a Licensing Authority by the LSB will have a number of powers – including the ability to grant licences to bodies wishing to become an ABS, to impose a financial penalty on a licensed body, to disqualify individuals from holding certain posts within the licensed body and to revoke the body’s licence.

Provisions need to be made for a body to hear and determine appeals against these decisions. We have previously consulted on our proposal that there should be a single mechanism for ABS appeals provided by the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal. However, the SRA has decided not to consent to this approach because it considers that the First-tier Tribunal’s power to award costs is not sufficiently broad. SRA’s application for designation as a licensing authority (currently under consideration by LSB) names the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal as the relevant appellate body for decisions of the SRA as a licensing authority. To give effect to this proposal, it would be necessary for the Lord Chancellor to make an order under s.80 of the 2007 Act altering the functions of the SDT to enable it to hear ABS appeals.

Responses to the consultation should be submitted by 5pm on Thursday 2 June 2011.