From the Council Chamber

By Donna Taylor, Tony Fisher

The summer months are usually a quiet time in relation to news from Chancery Lane but here are the highlights

• Practicing certificate fees are expected to rise from £266 to £286 from the next renewal date. After a freeze during the pandemic both the Law Society and SRA are seeking increases. The compensation fund contributions will not rise from the existing level of £30 for an individual and £690 for firms holding client money.

After a biggest ever consultation with the profession 67% supported the Society’s proposal to increase its share in the practicing fee for 2022/23. The fees have to be approved by the LSB before being introduced.

In November the Society will launch a new three year corporate plan to support the membership.

Further details will follow in the next newsletter.

• SIF. After the success of the Law Society campaign to retain the Solicitors Indemnity Fund for another year the

SRA has announced that it will be launching a new scheme in 2023. Details are currently not available but you can read the discussion paper which they published here: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/ consultations/discussion-papers/solicitorsindemnity-fund-sif-consumer-protectionnegligence-claims/

• Register of Overseas Entities. A reminder that a new register of overseas entities has come into operation from 1st August 2022. This requires anonymous owners of UK property to reveal their identities to make it more difficult for foreign criminals to launder money through

UK property. The Law Society has issued guidance with regard to what solicitors should be doing about it and you can read this here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/ topics/property/register-of-overseas-entities-whatsolicitors-should-know-about-verification

• Bill of Rights. This Bill, introduced in the Queen’s speech earlier this year, sought to fundamentally review and amend the Human Rights Act. The Law Society made representations that the provisions of the bill would:

o damage the rule of law

o prevent access to justice

o reduce or remove rights

o lead to more cases being taken to the ECtHR

o impact devolution

o damage the UK’s international reputation

o create legal uncertainty For the full response drafted by the Law Society and its Human Rights Committee please go to: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/campaigns/consultationresponses/human-rights-act-reform-a-modern-bill-of-rightsconsultation-law-society-response. The bill has now been pulled in the current Parliament following the election of Liz Truss as the new PM.

• Stamp Duty. The Chancellor has announced further cuts to stamp duty in his mini-budget on 23rd September 2022. The price at which stamp duty is paid was doubled from £125,000 to £250,000.

The rates are now:

• 0%: £0 - £250,000 (£425,000 for first time buyers)

• 5%: £250,000 - £925,000

• 10%: £925,000 - £1,500,000

• 12%: £1,500,000+

The chancellor added that discounted stamp duty for first-time buyers will now apply to properties costing up to £625,000 - up from £500,000.

The average price of a house in England is £312,000. Whether this will provide another boost to the conveyancing market as the previous stamp duty cuts introduced during the COVID pandemic remains to be seen.

As ever if any members have any particular concerns they would like to address to us please do not hesitate to email us.

Tony Fisher (Council member for Essex) (tfisher@fjg.co.uk)

Donna Taylor (Council member for Suffolk) (donna.taylor@nexa.law)