The SRA has six million files in storage

The SRA has six million client files in storage following interventions in firms, it has emerged. Only 0.55 per cent, or 33,000 files, have been requested by clients.

Shorter time limits for retention could have cut the £4.4m cost of storage from the last 30 interventions by £2.5m, the regulator has said.

"Recent interventions into larger firms have revealed numbers of archived files well beyond anything envisaged at the time of the previous court application," the regulator said in a consultation launched today.

"Based on interventions over the last 20 years, the historic average number of archive files was 4,000 to 5,000 files."

However, the regulator said that recent interventions into larger firms had produced "unprecedented numbers of archived files" and in one case, understood to be Yorkshire firm Atteys, it took possession of 450,000 files.

Helen Herniman, director of client protection at the SRA, said intervention costs had been "driven by the need to secure and manage a disproportionately large number of closed files".

She went on: "Because of previously undisclosed financial stability issues, the predicted number of interventions we may have to carry out has risen dramatically and the associated costs, especially where firms have failed to adhere to or implement effective file destruction policies, have increased significantly.

"The profession ultimately bears these costs, so we promised in March that we would look at ways of reducing the costs of interventions where possible.

"The consultation outlines various retention periods for different types of document. We believe we have a sensible and balanced set of proposals, but if anyone thinks we have missed anything or we can further improve on the suggestions, we'd like to hear from them by responding to the consultation."

Among the changes being considered are longer retention periods for original documents and for 'sensitive matters', such as those involving children or wills and probate.