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Dear Mr Cohen

Thank you for your email.

We write further to your request for information made, as you state,
 under The Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("FOI").

Please be advised that the Tribunal is not a public authority (as defined
under the FOI) and it is not subject to its provisions. That said, we
try to provide information to the public about matters which are
reasonably within our knowledge e.g.  questions about the work of the
Tribunal and its processes and procedures, and our published judgments.

In terms of diversity data, whilst we are not obliged to record this data,
we do endeavour to do so at the conclusion of proceedings.  Unfortunately,
we have an extremely low response rate for this information.

In relation to the information requested in relation to respondents struck
off in 2023, we received one response, the ethnic and religious background
of the respondent being White Christian.

In relation to your second request, in 2023 there were two cases which
were not published on the Tribunal website due to health and safety
considerations however we do not hold the diversity statistics for those
cases.   There were no cases not published for this reason in 2022.

Kind Regards

Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

From: JACOB COHEN <[FOI #1113712 email]>
Sent: Sunday, April 7, 2024 5:40 PM
To: SDT Enquiries <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Request for Religious and Ethnic
Demographics Data for 2023 and Non-Published Decisions for 2022-2023

Dear The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,

Dear Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,

I am writing to respectfully request detailed information regarding the
religious and ethnic demographics of Solicitors, Registered Foreign
Lawyers, and Registered European Lawyers who were subject to disciplinary
actions resulting in being struck off in the calendar year 2023.

In alignment with the diversity and equality policies promulgated by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), it is my understanding that law
firms are obliged to record and maintain comprehensive data concerning
their personnel's ethnic and religious backgrounds. In light of this, I am
hopeful that your esteemed body can furnish the requested statistics in
the specified format below:

Religious Affiliations:

Muslim: [Number]
Jewish: [Number]
Hindu: [Number]
Buddhist: [Number]
Christian: [Number]
Ethnic Backgrounds:

White: [Number]
Black: [Number]
Indian: [Number]
Pakistani: [Number]
Caucasian: [Number]
Asian: [Number]
Furthermore, I seek to obtain the statistical data concerning decisions
that were not disclosed publicly on the SDT website for the years 2022 and
2023, specifically due to the health and safety considerations of the
individuals involved. I am interested in the religious and ethnic
statistics of these particular cases as well.

I wish to emphasize that this request is solely for aggregate statistical
information and explicitly excludes any request for personal,
identifiable, or commercially sensitive data. It is my belief that
providing this data, in a transparent and forthright manner, is within the
public interest and aligns with the principles of openness and
accountability.

I trust that this request will be met with your usual level of cooperation
and efficiency. I look forward to your prompt and affirmative response.

Thank you for considering this request and for your ongoing commitment to
upholding the highest standards of transparency and accountability within
the legal profession.

Yours faithfully,

JACOB COHEN

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