SRA apologises for ABS applications blunder

The SRA apologised this afternoon for an extraordinary blunder in which drastically wrong figures were quoted on the number of ABS applications in two of the quarterly ‘regulatory outcomes’ reports published on its website.

The original version of the report for the last quarter stated that only one ‘complete application’ had been received.

Following an enquiry from Solicitors Journal, the regulator has now released new figures showing that the true figure for complete applications was in fact 28.

The outcomes report for the second quarter of 2012 stated that only two complete applications had been received for that quarter. The true figure in this case was 12.

The new figures show that, in total, the regulator received 198 completed Stage 2 ABS applications in the first three quarters of 2012.

By the end of September, 47 of these were regarded as complete and invoices sent out to the firms involved and 33 licence applications were actually granted. This means that 14 applications were awaiting payment and the remaining 151 still being investigated.

In a statement, the regulator apologised for the inaccuracy and said it would ensure that the situation did not happen in the future.

Elsewhere in the latest report, the SRA commented: “The number of interested applicants continues to grow, which is encouraging for long-term growth and competition within the legal services market.

“The majority of applications involve firms which are already regulated, with only a minority being non-regulated or new start-up firms. The personal injury market remains a particularly popular area for investment.”

The SRA’s claims management unit, which handles claims on the Compensation Fund, said the number of new claims on the fund had fallen from 319 at the end of 2011 to 209 in the third quarter of 2012.

The total amount claimed also fell, from £9.74m to 8.63m. However, the amount of money paid out by the fund increased during the same period from £3.52m to £5.97m.

The number of claims relating to mortgage fraud fell to only three from a peak of 25 in the first quarter of the year, but there was an increase in the number relating to stamp duty, from 25 to 36.

In a separate development, the SRA has announced that insurers have underwritten £240m of business for solicitors in England and Wales for the current indemnity year.

The biggest chunk of the market was taken by XL Insurance with 16.5 per cent, followed by Travelers and QBE International with equal shares of 10.9 per cent.