SRA delay draws criticism
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has raised concerns over the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) failure to publish SQE provider pass rates, setting a deadline of Autumn 2025 for the data to be released.
The delay was highlighted in a new performance report by the LSB, which reviewed the solicitors’ regulator’s performance over the past year.
The LSB said it is “concerned about the SRA’s failure to publish provider pass-rate data for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) training providers, as well as other concerns about SQE including affordability, design and quality”.
“The SRA’s failure to publish provider pass-rate data, despite it making a commitment to do so, means that SQE candidates do not have all the information they need to make informed choices,” the LSB continued. “We expect the SRA to remedy this situation as soon as possible and by no later than autumn of 2025.”
Legal Cheek reported earlier this year that this SRA still wasn’t in position to go public with the provider pass rates, citing “unexpected problems” with the data.
The regulator initially pledged to publish pass rates by training provider in “late 2023”, but missed this deadline, blaming a lack of “sufficient data”.
The LSB’s new report uses a traffic light system to assess regulators across three categories: well-led, regulatory approach, and operational delivery. The SRA received a red rating for operational delivery. Similarly, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) was rated red for both operational delivery and well-led.
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