End of the road for CPD

On 21st May the SRA announced the end of the mandatory sixteen hours CPD training requirement for Solicitors. The decision will also mean that training providers need no longer be authorised by the SRA. The new regime will be rolled out from Spring 2015 to be completed by November 2016. 

There are winners and losers as is always the case with these things. Law firms and Solicitors will welcome the cost saving and flexibility of the new approach. Legal trainers who focused on CPD delivery will have to change or die. The Law Gazette reported that one provider (Progressive Legal Training Ltd) ceased trading within days of their announcement. The Gazette also stated the "SRA expects to lose £500,000 in accreditation fees as a result of the overhaul". One would expect that the savings in administrative expenses will exceed that figure.