Philip: We have got to grips with the delays
A major push to improve the quality and speed of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) investigation and enforcement work has significantly reduced the number of cases older than two years.
However, an evaluation of the first year of the project showed that it is struggling with the target of resolving 70% of cases within 10 months.
New, tougher targets for its investigators were introduced last year in a bid to reduce delays in processing complaints about solicitors, with chief executive Paul Philip acknowledging at the time that more serious cases were taking too long.
In July 2023, the SRA implemented process changes, along with new guidance and ways of working, that were developed through the ‘lean six sigma’ methodology.
A newly published paper that went before last month’s meeting of the SRA board said these had created “a very different working environment”.
It explained: “Work activities and delivery expectations are clearer, more consistent and more tightly monitored and enforced. This includes compliance with stricter timeframes and customer service protocols.
“This is supported by more effective knowledge sharing, and enhanced management information and performance management tools at team, case and individual level.”
The investigation team has grown from 195 staff (full-time equivalents) in July 2022 to 236 two years later, ensuring that no investigator has more than 25 cases on average, down from 40.
In the latter half of the year, the SRA has achieved all four of its primary timeliness targets: 80% of initial assessments are conducted within two months, and 93% of investigations (post assessment) are concluded within 12 months, 95% within 18 months and 98% within 24 months.
As of July 2023, there were 162 cases that had been open for more than two years (it had been over 200 the year before) and the target was to halve that over the 12 months – in fact, there were 60 open cases by 30 June 2024, a 63% reduction.
The total number of investigations over 18 months old fell by 40% in the same period, and the number over 12 months old by 21%.
As a result of more cases being closed, referrals to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal have more than doubled this year and they are being lodged more quickly.
In total, the team’s work in progress has stayed steady at around 1,600 live investigations despite the SRA saying it has seen an increase in reports over the year.
The only missed target was that to resolve 70% of investigations within 10 months from assessment – it achieved 52%.
The board paper said: “We have always understood that this was a challenging target which we introduced to help us to monitor progress as a result of the changes… Given the bedding-in period following the introduction of the reforms, we did not expect to achieve 70% by June 2024.”
A variety of checks have provided reassurance that quality of decision-making and file management is good – the SRA has upheld an average of 1.6 complaints relating to delay per month this business year, compared to 3.7 the year before.
The SRA said its performance in the first year has “given us greater confidence that the new ways of working are making a difference to the quality of our enforcement work, and that any issues will be picked up in real time, and themes identified and addressed as appropriate”.
It continued: “There is more we want to do to deliver further improvements and to enhance our quality assurance activities, increasing the use of internal control measures and peer reviews, and developing our annual cycle to include larger scale substantive end to end reviews, risk-based dip sampling exercises, and an audit conducted by external lawyers.
“However, the work we have done has achieved the aims of the programme and created the environment in which we can go on to develop and improve further.”
Speaking yesterday at a media briefing, SRA chief executive Paul Philip suggested that “most of the delays came out of the Covid period, when I think most organisations were struggling”.
He continued: “I would’ve preferred to have got to grips with it sooner than we have, but we clearly have got grips with it.”
With a programme of continuous improvement in place, Mr Philip expressed confidence that – despite the SRA’s stretched resources – “there will be more development in our IE work in order to make sure we keep on top of it”.
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