Budget & Levy

The SLCC is funded by legal practitioners in Scotland. Find out about our budget, how we spend it and the details of the levy which we impose on legal practitioners in Scotland.

Budget & Levy

Although the SLCC was set up by the Scottish Government, we are not considered a public body as we have both public and private attributes.

In common with public bodies, we are subject to freedom of information, standards in public life and the Human Rights Act 1998. Our private attributes mean that we are responsible for our own finances, set our own annual budget and are not funded by the public.

Our funding comes from the legal profession in Scotland and this is through the payment of an annual levy, collected by the professional bodies from their members and from charges imposed when a complaint is upheld.

The professional bodies are:

The Law Society of Scotland
The Faculty of Advocates
The Association of Commercial Attorneys.

The levies for Conveyancing and Executry Practitioners are collected by the Law Society of Scotland.

The SLCC Budget for 2010-2011

The SLCC Budget for 2010-2011 was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2010

You can read the full budget here (PDF 3.56MB) and the letters to the

Law Society for Scotland (PDF 131KB),

the Faculty of Advocates (PDF 52.4KB),

the Association of Commercial Attorneys (PDF 43.4KB) and the

Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing MSP (PDF 113KB).

What will the levies for 2010-2011 be?

(The SLCC's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.)

Solicitors with 3 plus years experience	£235
Conveyancing & Executry Practitioners with 3 plus years experience	£235
Solicitors within first 3 years of practice	£118
Conveyancing & Executry Practitioners within first 3 years of practice	£118
Practising outwith Scotland	£78
In-house Conveyancing & Executry Practitioners	£78
In-house lawyers	£78
Advocates	£118
Association of Commercial Attorneys	£78

Complaints levies are made against legal practitioners when a complaint is upheld. The complaints levies for 2010 - 2011 have not changed and are:

Mediation Levy	£0
No complaint upheld	£0
Complaint accepted - First Settlement	£500
Complaint accepted - Second and Further Settlements	£700
Formal Determination - First	£800
Formal Determination - Second	£1,200
Formal Determination - Third and Further Determination	£2,000

The current levies for 2009 - 2010 are:

(The SLCC's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.)

Solicitors with 3 plus years experience	£275
Advocates	£223
Solicitors within first 3 years experience	£138
In-house and Outwith Scotland Solicitors	£91
Association of Commercial Attorneys	£91

What are the costs involved if a complaint is made against me?

Complaints levies are charges made against legal practitioners when a complaint is upheld. The complaints levies for 2009 - 2010 are:

Mediation Levy	£0
No complaint upheld	£0
Complaint accepted - First Settlement	£500
Complaint accepted - Second and Further Settlements	£700
Formal Determination - First	£800
Formal Determination - Second	£1,200
Formal Determination - Third and Further Determination	£2,000

Budget and Levy Information for 2010 / 2011

19 January 2010

The Consultation Process

In January of each year, the SLCC consults with the professional bodies and their members on our budget for the next financial year. This is in accordance with the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007.

Your can read the

letters to the professional bodies here (PDF 33.2MB)

and the

budget proposals for 2010-2011 here (PDF 5.14 MB)

The professional bodies responded on 23 February 2010 and you can read their comments below:

Response from the Law Society of Scotland (PDF 542 KB)

Response from the Faculty of Advocates (PDF 72.3 KB)

The Scottish Government Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing MSP, (PDF 506KB) commented on the budget proposals on 22 February 2010.

More information is available in the Questions and Answers section and the complaints process page.

Budget & Levy Archive

If you have any further questions on the budget and levy, please contact us.