Cost of regulation
The CLSB is funded through the collection of practising fees from regulated Costs Lawyers. Approval must be obtained from the Legal Services Board for the level of the practising fee each year. Practising fees are separate to any membership fees charged by the Association of Costs Lawyers.
The practising fee includes a levy payable by all professionals regulated under the Legal Services Act 2007 – including Costs Lawyers – to fund the activities of the Legal Services Board and the Legal Ombudsman.
| Year | Practising fee | % change |
| 2012 | £250 | 0% |
| 2013 | £250 | 0% |
| 2014 | £250 | 0% |
| 2015 | £250 | 0% |
| 2016 | £250 | 0% |
| 2017 | £250 | 0% |
| 2018 | £250 | 0% |
| 2019 | £250 | 0% |
| 2020 | £275 | 10% |
| 2021 | £275 | 0% |
| 2022 | £281 | 2% |
| 2023 | £281 | 0% |
| 2024 | £290 | 3% |
The LSB recovers its annual operating costs under The Legal Services Act 2007 (Levy) (No. 2) Rules 2010. The contribution payable by the CLSB toward those annual operating costs is determined by the number of regulated Costs Lawyers at 1 April each year.
| Year | LSB levy | Amount per Costs Lawyer |
| 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 | £13,189 | 411 CL = £32.09 |
| 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 | £16,164 | 565 CL = £28.61 |
| 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 | £14,280 | 563 CL = £25.36 |
| 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 | £13,860 | 562 CL = £24.66 |
| 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 | £12,936 | 598 CL = £21.63 |
| 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 | £12,008 | 632 CL = £19.00 |
| 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 | £11,699 | 620 CL = £18.87 |
| 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 | £13,381 | 662 CL = £20.21 |
| 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 | £14,538 | 684 CL = £21.25 |
| 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 | £14,960 | 682 CL = £21.94 |
| 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 | £15,047 | 681 CL = £22.10 |
| 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 | £15,712 | 689 CL = £22.80 |
| 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 | £16,791 | 694 CL = £24.19 |
| Year | Number of Costs Lawyers at 1 April | Income | Expenditure | Net reserves at 31 December* |
| 2013 | 563 | £142,901 | £113,651 | £35,000 |
| 2014 | 562 | £147,488 | £132,637 | £45,000 |
| 2015 | 598 | £157,197 | £116,661 | £65,000 |
| 2016 | 632 | £163,406 | £155,567 | £85,000 |
| 2017 | 620 | £167,519 | £150,028 | £94,941 |
| 2018 | 662 | £178,313 | £153,916 | £104,864 |
| 2019 | 684 | £176,863 | £223,669 | £95,408 |
| 2020 | 682 | £196,486 | £153,470 | £115,561 |
| 2021 | 681 | £190,188 | £189,839 | £120,792 |
| 2022 | 689 | £197,766 | £176,439 | £127,251 |
| 2023 | 694 | £201,240 | £197,701 | £134,440 |
*In accordance with the CLSB’s Reserves Policy
| Year | CEO remuneration | Chair remuneration | Board member day rate |
| 2013 | £46,350 (from 1/10/11) | £6,000 (from 31/10/11) | £250 (from 31/10/11) |
| 2014 | £46,350 (from 1/10/11) | £6,000 (from 31/10/11) | £250 (from 31/10/11) |
| 2015 | £48,108 (from 1/4/15) | £6,240 (from 1/4/15) | £269 (from 1/4/15) |
| 2016 | £61,724 (from 1/3/16) | £7,000 (from 1/2/16) £7,245 (from 1/4/16) |
£320 (from 12/7/16) |
| 2017 | £62,960 (from 1/3/17) | £7,390 (from 1/3/17) | £327 (from 1/3/17) |
| 2018 | £65,164 (from 1/3/18) | £7,649 (from 1/3/18) | £338.45 (from 1/3/18) |
| 2019 | £66,598 (from 1/3/19) £36,750 (from 10/6/19)* |
£7,818 (from 1/3/19) | £346 (from 1/3/19) |
| 2020 | £37,467 (from 1/3/20) £44,960 (from 1/7/20)* |
£7,970 (from 1/3/20) | £353 (from 1/3/20) |
| 2021 | £45,500 (from 1/3/21) | £8,000 (from 1/3/21) | £357 (from 1/3/21) |
| 2022 | £46,865 (from 1/3/22) | £8,240 (from 1/3/22) | £368 (from 1/3/22) |
| 2023 | £49,677 (from 1/3/23) | £8,734 (from 1/3/23) | £390 (from 1/3/23) |
| 2024 | £52,161 (from 1/3/24) | £9,171 (from 1/3/24) | £409 (from 1/3/24) |
* New CEO appointed on a part-time contract – 2.5 days a week. 3 days per week from 1/7/20. The figure stated is the employee equivalent, excluding National Insurance contributions etc.
You can find more details about our income and expenditure in our latest financial accounts.
The contribution payable by the CLSB toward the operating costs of LeO is determined by the number of service complaints about Costs Lawyer received by LeO each year. Since 2014, there has been a minimum levy of £5,000.
| Year | LeO levy | Amount per Costs Lawyer |
| 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 | £1,211 | 411 CL = £2.95 |
| 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 | £1,135 | 565 CL = £2.01 |
| 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 | £1,043 | 563 CL = £1.85 |
| 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 | £5,000 | 562 CL = £8.90 |
| 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 | £5,000 | 598 CL = £8.36 |
| 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 | £5,000 | 632 CL = £7.91 |
| 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 | £5,000 | 620 CL = £8.06 |
| 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 | £5,000 | 662 CL = £7.55 |
| 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 | £5,000 | 684 CL = £7.31 |
| 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 | £5,000 | 682 CL = £7.33 |
| 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 | £5,000 | 681 CL = £7.34 |
| 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 | £5,000 | 689 CL = £7.26 |
| 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 | £5,000 | 694 CL = £7.20 |
| Year | Paid | |
| Set up contribution | £400 | |
| 2014 – 2015 | £240 | |
| 2015 – 2016 | £288 | |
| 2016 – 2017 | £363 | |
| 1 November 2017 to 31 October 2018 | £4,000 | |
| 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019 | £5,000 | |
| 1 November 2019 to 31 October 2020 | £6,025 | |
| 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2021 | £5,800 | |
| 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2022 | £5,800 | |
| 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023 | £5,800 | |
Legal Choices is a collaboration between the legal services regulators in England and Wales. You can find more information about the success of the project to date in the Legal Choices Summary Report for 2017 – 2020. Information about progress against the development strategy for 2020 to 2023 can be found in the Year 1 Report. |
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