SDT: Significant overhaul
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal’s (SDT) budget is set to soar by a quarter next year in response to a surge in cases referred by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
It has also warned that prosecutions arising out of the Post Office scandal and collapse of Axiom Ince could send it rising further for 2026.
Solicitors pay for the SDT through their practising fees.
Papers before tomorrow’s meeting of the Legal Services Board (LSB) – which has to approve the budget – said the 25% increase in budget from £2.5m this year to £3.1m for 2025 was mainly due to SDT estimating that it would need 300 sitting days in the year, up from 260 in the 2024 application.
This was due to a 50% increase in cases referred by the SRA in the last eight months.
The budget figure is less extreme when put in the context of recent years, which shows that 2024 is actually the outlier; the budget in each of the previous three years was around £3.1m for fewer sitting days (it was £4.3m in 2023, but this included an exceptional £1.2m as the tribunal had to move premises).
The LSB revealed that, “by way of early warning… [the SDT said] it is anticipating that there may be cases from the SRA relating to Axiom and the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry around mid-2025, after the panel enquiry has reported, and this could impact the SDT 2026 budget”.
The 2025 budget is split between members’ costs (30%), administrative costs (48%) and operational costs (22%) – members are paid £595 per day of sitting, and half of that for training day.
The SDT currently has 14 staff (equivalent to 13.3 FTE) and is recruiting another deputy clerk to cope with the extra caseload.
In her submission to the LSB, SDT president Alison Kellett said it had undergone “a significant overhaul” in the last two years. “We have updated tribunal processes and procedures, changed physical location and made best use of innovative IT systems, upskilling staff and members.”
It has a plan for continuous business improvement in place and next year intends to introduce contemporary summary judgments at the conclusion of hearings.
These will provide “a preliminary explanation of the panel’s reasoning, giving the press and public insight into the decision rationale before the full written judgment is published”, which usually happens several weeks later.
There will also be enhanced training for tribunal members and staff, with a stronger focus on equality, diversity and inclusion, and unconscious bias.
One problem Ms Kellett highlighted was the SDT having increasingly to deal with late agreed outcomes reached between by the SRA and accused solicitor. These are meant to be presented to the SDT for approval at least 28 days before the hearing but instead are often received at short notice.
“This frequently leads to the late cancellation of hearings, and means members suffer financial loss where they are unable to find alternative work at short notice,” Ms Kellett said. “To alleviate this to some degree, from 1 August 2024, members will be paid for lost days, but capped at a maximum of two sitting days.”
The challenge panel set up by the LSB to test the budget recommended that the full board approve it, while the Law Society last week formally approved the application too.
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