CoPSO Annual Conference
16 October 2013
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) held their second event for the search industry last week. Attracting over 80 members from across the industry, the conference, which was specifically tailored for those from within the searches profession saw CoPSO members gather to attend a morning workshop given by the PCCB and an afternoon of topical presentations, tailored to address the key issues facing today’s property search providers.
The conference, which took place last Thursday in London provided attendees with a series of updates including presentations from the Property Ombudsman and the Land Registry. In addition, members were able to get an update on the newly released compliance notes from the PCCB.
David Woodward and Denis Purshouse, inspectors for the PCCB, provided delegates with a detailed introduction to the Property Codes Compliance Board and its key role regarding Search Code compliance. As part of the presentation, members were updated with the compliance activity plan which includes the newly released compliance notes on Flood and Insurance. These have been designed to further strengthen the Search Code – an already recognised stamp of quality for regulated property searches. Attendees were also given the opportunity to provide feedback on the PCCB’s role to date and to put forward new ideas and suggestions, for the compliance board to consider.
The afternoon session began with Kate Faulkner from Designs on Property talking about the market and the consumer. The audience also heard from Chris Hamer, The Property Ombudsman, then gave an insight into the structure and role of the TPO.
The final speakers were Eddie Davies, CEO, and Allison Bradbury, Commercial Strategic Development Manager at HM Land Registry. The pair talked through the proposals around Local Land Charges and the current plans to centralise the registers with the Land Registry.
Chairman of CoPSO, James Sherwood-Rogers, who hosted the day’s event said: “Following on from the success of last year’s event, it was great to see so many more members at our conference this year. In addition to the external speakers, who kindly gave their time to present during the day, the conference also provided a valuable opportunity for members to be brought up-to-date with some of the key issues facing our industry. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who attended and I hope you found the event both interesting and informative.”
The conference, which was exclusively for CoPSO members, was free of charge for all CoPSO Executive, Associate and Affiliate members. Copies of the presentations can be downloaded from the website.
