SRA outlines business plan for future

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has unveiled its Business Plan for 2026/27, detailing essential planned activities and objectives for the upcoming year. The plan is a continuation of reforms initiated under the leadership of new Chief Executive Sarah Rapson since her appointment in November 2025. It aims to strengthen the SRA’s core functions, enhance operational efficiency, and develop new capabilities. Three main priority areas are highlighted: delivering operational excellence, proactively identifying and managing risk, and focusing on significant issues that affect the legal profession.

Key deliverables include the commitment to provide clearer, quicker, and fairer outcomes by concentrating investigations and enforcement on matters that protect the public most effectively. The plan also emphasizes strengthening risk-based prioritisation, with an enhanced focus on using data and analytics to inform decision-making. Additionally, a proactive supervision function will be established to engage directly with firms, enabling better identification, understanding, and management of potential risks.

The SRA aims to prioritise work surrounding issues posing a higher risk to the public, such as high-volume claims, the safeguarding of client funds, governance structures within firms, the necessity of professional ethics, the responsible integration of AI, and the enhancement of candidates’ experiences with the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Reports indicate that misconduct reports submitted to the SRA have surged by 45 per cent from 2022 to 2025, highlighting the urgent need for the changes outlined in this plan.

Investment in technology, improved data usage, and clear prioritisation concerning consumer harm are strategies mentioned in the report to address these challenges. The SRA’s plan was developed following an extensive consultation exercise earlier this year, which garnered broad support and collected significant feedback that informed revisions to specific proposals. Changes included providing more detail on the handling of misconduct reports, governance protocols for AI and data usage, and publishing more evidence on SQE performance and accessibility.

Sarah Rapson expressed, ‘Earlier this year, I said that the SRA required a reset. This Business Plan marks the next stage of that process. It sets out a focused programme of change to strengthen our operations, modernise our capabilities and help us move from a largely reactive regulator to one that is increasingly proactive, intelligence-led and focused on preventing harm.' Rapson also noted the extensive nature of the consultation, recognising the importance of the insights gathered in shaping the final plan.

The Business Plan covers the SRA’s work programme from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027, bridging the gap to the more comprehensive 2027-2030 Corporate Strategy, which is set to be consulted on by the end of this year. Engagement with stakeholders has been pivotal, with direct meetings, focus groups, and webinars conducted to involve the legal profession and wider community. This approach has ensured that the SRA’s strategies reflect the needs and expectations of those it serves.