Last month, pre-Budget, I pondered on what impact the October 30th event would have on…
As it’s the middle of August, the middle of the school holidays, and we’re just about to embark on our second heatwave of the Summer, I’m conscious that many of you will (I hope) be enjoying a well-earned break and taking advantage of the weather, either here or abroad.
Is this therefore a ‘quiet time’ for our sector and the UK housing market in general? Well hardly, and there are numerous reasons for that, including the fact that by the time we all meet up again in September, we will have a new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet and in all likelihood, a new Levelling Up Secretary of State and a new Housing Minister.
There is a slight sense of inertia as Parliament is in recess, and we await the reconfiguration of the Government, and many of the major decisions we might have already anticipated have been put on hold until there is something more concrete in place, however we shouldn’t expect this feeling to last very long.
Giving that, it perhaps makes sense to look internally and to provide you with an update on some of the work that has been taking place within the CA for our members’ benefit.
You will have hopefully seen the launch of our new ‘Find an Expert’ service this month; effectively allowing consumers and industry stakeholders to search our membership for conveyancing excellence, providing results based on locale or across those many firms who provide services to clients right across the country.
Our aim here is to provide access to conveyancing firms – we often hear about how there are few signposts to conveyancers – and to be able to detail the services member firms offer, and to put customers/advisers/agents/all stakeholders in contact with them will I hope you agree be a valuable addition.
Again, this is only available to our member firms and given we have quickly become the go-to trade association for conveyancers, it’s only right and proper that we put you in the shop window for all those who are looking for your services through the CA.
If you have been with us for some time, you will hopefully be well aware of what the CA offers firms, but it’s always worthwhile reiterating the benefits, plus of course these new additional services that we continue to introduce.
This month we produced a new Membership brochure – which you can view here – and I’d urge you to review it to see if there’s any aspect of membership you are not taking advantage of, plus of course feel free to share with your conveyancing colleagues and peer group to make them aware of what is on offer.
Our roster of Affiliate members continues to grow, and there are discounts available to CA member firms on the services and products they offer, plus of course the range of workshops and webinars we run, our regular meetings, the Annual Conference, plus opportunities to get involved with our lobbying and campaign work which is able to reshape the sector the way we want to see it work, the PR activity we produce, the surveys we run, I could go on.
There’s a lot more information in the brochure and our website, including details of our Protocols for best practice in technical aspects of our work, plus Cyber Fraud, and much more information on workstreams such as the provision of upfront information, digital identity, modernising the home moving process, and much more.
Our new Secretariat are incredibly proactive and are hopefully keeping you informed of all our work, activities, and forthcoming events, etc, so please do contact them on any aspect of the CA and how to get the most out of your membership. And if you’re aware of any firm that might benefit from membership, please let us know.
Finally, just a further reminder that our next series of meetings for all members will take place on the 14th September in the fabulous venue of the Queen Mary Undercroft at the Old Royal Navy College, followed by dinner aboard – dare I say it – an even better place, the Cutty Sark itself.
You may have been fortunate to have visited there before, but I suspect many will not have eaten aboard the ship, and I therefore hope we’ll have a very large turnout for both the day sessions and our evening entertainment.
It’s these types of unique settings that add considerably to the CA ‘experience’, providing a chance to network and mingle with colleagues and peers in venues which are not to be forgotten. Next month’s event is definitely not one to be missed.
If you are able to join us, please do so by booking your place via the website page here.
In the meantime, continue to enjoy any holidays and the weather, and I will catch up with you all next month.
Nicky Heathcote is Non-Executive Chair at the Conveyancing Association (CA)