SRA Standards and Regulations

Grants which may be made from the Fund

For any grant to be made out of the Fund, an applicant must satisfy the SRA that the applicant is eligible in accordance with rule 4 and (save in respect of a grant made under rule 3.4) has suffered or is likely to suffer: loss in consequence of the dishonesty of a defaulting practitioner or the employee or manager or owner of a defaulting practitioner; or loss and hardship in consequence of a...

Losses outside the remit of the Fund

For the avoidance of doubt, the SRA shall not make a grant in respect of losses that: arise solely by reason of professional negligence by a defaulting practitioner, or the employee or manager of a defaulting practitioner, save as provided for in rule 3.4; are indirect or consequential, save where a claim is made for costs of completing or remedying work for which the defaulting practitioner...

Notice to defaulting practitioner

The SRA may not make a grant unless it has given not less than 8 days' notice to the defaulting practitioner informing them of the nature and value of the application, unless it appears to the SRA that it would not be reasonably practicable to give such notice, or the grant should be made urgently. Where the SRA has made a grant urgently in accordance with rule 17.1, the SRA shall as soon as,...

Apportionment and multi-party issues

Where the loss has been sustained as a result of the act or omission of more than one party, the SRA will consider the role of each party in contributing to the applicant's loss in deciding whether to make a grant and, if so, the amount of any grant. In the case of a defaulting licensed body, the SRA will consider the extent to which the loss is attributable to an act or omission which falls...

The object of the Fund

The Fund is a discretionary fund of last resort and no person has a right to a grant enforceable at law. The primary objects of the Fund are: to replace money which a defaulting practitioner or a defaulting practitioner's employee or manager has misappropriated or otherwise failed to account for; and to relieve losses arising from the civil liability on the part of a defaulting practitioner or...

Deduction from grants

The SRA may deduct from any grant such amount as it sees fit so that the applicant will not be in a better position by reason of a grant than the applicant would have been in if no loss had been sustained. The SRA may deduct from any grant such amount as it sees fit to represent monies already recovered, or which will or should have been recovered, by the applicant through other means in...

Obtaining and delivery of accountants' reports

The SRA may require you to obtain or deliver an accountant's report to the SRA on reasonable notice if the SRA considers that it is in the public interest to do so. You must ensure that any such report is prepared and signed by an accountant who is a member of one of the chartered accountancy bodies and who is, or works for, a registered auditor. The SRA may disqualify an accountant from...

Client accounting systems and controls

You keep and maintain accurate, contemporaneous, and chronological records to: record in client ledgers identified by the client's name and an appropriate description of the matter to which they relate: all receipts and payments in your name which are client money on the client side of the client ledger account; all receipts and payments in your name which are not client money on the business...

Client money must be kept separate

You keep client money separate from money belonging to you or the Prescribed Organisation. You ensure that you allocate promptly any funds from mixed payments you receive to the correct client account or any other accounts operated by the Prescribed Organisation. Where you are holding client money and some or all of that money will be used to pay your costs: you must give a bill of costs, or...

Duty to correct breaches after discovery

You correct any breaches of these rules promptly upon discovery. Any money improperly withheld or withdrawn from a client account must be immediately paid into the account or replaced as appropriate.