The CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers) have released their Business Plan for 2017. Now regarded as the Specialist Property Law Regulator and no longer only being relevant for conveyancers, the CLC were last year granted powers to issue licences to probate specialists. Prior to this, in order to become a CLC-regulated Probate Practitioner an individual would have had to qualify as a Licensed Conveyancer.
In response to employer demand, qualifications and training courses became available from the CLC, providing a stepping stone for individuals wishing to become Licensed Probate or Conveyancing Practitioners. Delivery of education for the training is overseen by the SQA and enable those without previous legal qualifications to be recognised as a Probate or Conveyancing Technician.
By increasing training, the calibre of those entering the professions will improve and ultimately provide a better standard of legal service. The CLC aimed to consolidate the probate market and, in a similar approach for new conveyancers, for new probate practitioners to improve the process for consumers. This particular aim is ongoing and has continued through into this report, remaining an area of high priority.
The Business Plan outlines the priorities of the Council for next year, with completing the review of the CLC handbook as a starting point. This will be with an aim to improve innovation and competition within legal services, as well as strengthening consumer protection. Means of supporting the consumer will also be explored by the CLC, in providing them with assistance when choosing a provider of legal services, for example. Reviewing the regulatory framework is also part of the plan and aims to make all regulatory function independent from representative bodies. The Council intend to work with others in order to conduct the review and further propose to consider the legislation’s scope to replace the current system of ‘reservation’ with a risk-based approach.
When dealing with probate, large sums of money are commonly involved and can often present a large risk factor for clients. The CLC carry out regular review of their Code of Conduct and Frameworks, with an aim to adapt to new risks as well as legislation changes.
Last year, this review aimed to:
- ensure consumer protection based on witnessed risks,
- reducing regulatory burden with an aim to streamline their approach through focus on the relevant risk
- ensure intelligence and market insight is utilised to the best of its ability
Enhancing consumer protection through Personal Indemnity Insurance (PII) changes was also introduced last year, which provide support in approach to the review.
This regulatory arrangements review acknowledges the importance of ensuring risks in high value transactions – such as probate – are reduced and thus the CLC intends to continue with consultation on changes to the Accounts Code.
The 2017 plan also includes a review of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework and will be followed by a further look at various components in depth. This will include analysing independence and integrity issues, cooperation and accountability to the CLC, standards of service as well as security and cybercrime. All of these elements can be considered of high significance where probate dealings are concerned.
