The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recommended that the individual practicing certificate (PC) fee should be cut by almost a fifth.

The recommendation, which was passed at a board meeting yesterday (1 June), now requires approval by the Law Society Council, which will meet on 13 July. If confirmed, the move will see the PC fee reduced by 18% from £428 to £350.

The SRA has also budgeted for how much it needs to collect from the firm-based PC fee during 2011-12, with this figure set to be reduced by a similar percentage from a total of £121.7m to £99m.

The SRA introduced the firm-based fee last year in a bid to relieve the burden on in-house lawyers, who have long argued that they should receive a discount of the costs of the PC.

It had been thought that the firm-based fee would eventually contribute as much as 80% of the costs of regulating the profession. However, the SRA has confirmed that it expects to continue to collect 60% of funding from firms and 40% from individuals during 2011-12.

The news comes alongside the SRA's launch of an online tool to allow firms to calculate their fees for the first time, with the development part of the regulator's £20m IT upgrade.

At the board meeting, the SRA also recommended that fees for alternative business structures (ABSs) should be based on an estimate of their income rather than their actual turnover, as a proposed alternative whereby they could be refunded or charged retroactively could cause bureaucratic difficulties.

The board also recommended the final draft for the controversial quality assurance scheme – a judiciary review of advocates which is expected to see 900 judges trained to appraise the criminal advocates they face in the UK's courts.

Several members of the SRA board raised concerns about the draft, which led to a recommendation based on a number of conditions. The board sought assurances on preparations for judicial training, the total cost of the scheme, and the need to ensure that advocates acting in cases before judges involved in their evaluation would not face conflicts of interest.

The scheme is based on Lord Carter's 2006 report calling for a 'client-driven need for the quality assurance of advocacy' as a vital part of an effective justice system. The proposals are subject to approval and are expected to come into effect by January 2012.