The SDT notes the recent meeting between the SRA and the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice which has been widely reported.

The SDT notes the LSB position, set out in a press release on 4 August 2023, which states that it is currently undertaking a review of regulators’ (including the SRA) disciplinary and enforcement processes. This will now encompass the SRA’s latest attempts to increase its fining powers. Further, the LSB makes plain that it will follow the statutory process, which includes consultation, prior to making any recommendation as regards fining powers to the Lord Chancellor.  The SDT will engage fully in the consultation process in its robust opposition of unlimited fining powers being granted to the SRA.

The SDT delivers arm’s length adjudication, wholly separate from the investigative process, for which the SRA is responsible, in a manner that serves the fundamental principle of open justice. An independent, impartial and transparent regulatory framework is the bedrock of fairness and required in service of the overarching public interest.