Practising Certificate Fee (PCF) versus Bar Representation Fee (BRF)
8 February 2018
In advance of this year's Authorisation to Practise process, I
wanted to clarify where your money is being spent.
Income from the Practising Certificate Fee (PCF) is restricted
in what it can be spent on, as stipulated by the Legal Services
Act. At present, the independent Bar Standards Board (BSB) takes
two-thirds of the PCF funds to regulate the Bar. The Bar Council
(the separate body that represents barristers) receives only a
third of the funds, and supplements its income from other Bar
Council activities, such as the provision of training and events,
the Bar Directory, commercial partnerships, and, of course, the Bar
Representation Fee (BRF).
Many of you know the BRF as a fee which pays for Counsel
magazine (which you get for free if you subscribe), offers retail
and other discounts through Xexec, and gives those barristers doing
direct/public access the right to list on the Direct Access Portal,
the public-facing directory for the direct access Bar. But the BRF
gives the Bar far more than this.
Through the essential funding we obtain from your BRF
subscriptions, the Bar Council Policy team, whose focus is to
represent and support the Bar (not regulate it) is able to conduct
work which includes:
If you want to support the Bar Council's work in these areas and
in other essential matters for the profession, please pay the BRF.
From March 2018, you will be able to choose to pay £100 per year
(including VAT, which is recoverable) or select a higher amount,
should you be able and wish to support our work with additional
funds.
By paying the BRF you also receive the following
benefits:
Contact the Bar Council Member Services team MemberServices@BarCouncil.org.uk
to set up a direct debit payment or click here /supporting-the-bar/bar-representation-fee-and-funding/
to get more details of the services to which your BRF payment
provides access.
Isabel Divanna
Commercial Director at The Bar Council