Hike in BPTC fees
YLAL was extremeley disappointed to learn that a number of providers are increasing once more the fees which they charge for the Bar Professional Training Course. The fees of £17,350 which are to be charged by a number of the London based law schools is, in our view, a huge amount of money for this one year course which would-be barristers must undertake in order to qualify, and represents an above-inflation increase on the previous years fees.
We have taken the view for some time that the professional training courses, such as the BPTC, are prohibititively expensive. We remain extremely concerned that setting fees at this level will close off the legal profession to individuals from less affluent backgrounds.
The prohibititive cost of the professional training courses was an issue raised by YLAL in our response to the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR). It is expected that the LETR will be making their recommendations about the future of legal education and training later this year. We hope that the cost of the professional course fees is an issue which they tackle head on. More information about the LETR can be accessed here.