James Sherwood-Rogers to step down as CoPSO Chair
James commented: ‘I have been the Independent Chair of CoPSO for over ten years and was one of the founding members of CoPSO back in 2003. The property search industry has seen an incredible amount of change over the period.
The one constant has been The Search Code, which we at COPSO devised and implemented in order to create standards for the property information industry, protecting homebuyers and sellers, and the professionals and trades that support them.
The Search Code enabled the creation of the modern search industry. The first property information standard recognised by the Law Society, RICS and UKFinance, the Code enabled private businesses to deliver a search that was faster and cheaper, but also more reliable then the ‘postcode lottery’ of the slow council search system. It revolutionised the industry and we estimate that over 80% of all searches now go through a Search Code subscriber due to the protections it provides.
As well as setting standards, CoPSO members have been instrumental in driving innovation, digitising data and processes, improving speed and access to information, lowering costs for consumers, and holding data owners such as local and central government to account for data accuracy, availability and integrity. It is an essential role that I am sure it will continue to play.
I am proud of what CoPSO has achieved, but it is time to move on, particularly as the demands of other interests put increasing pressure on my time.’
During his time as Chair of CoPSO, James has been a member of HM Land Registry Advisory Committee, the Environment Agency Data Advisory Group, the Local Land Charges Data Digitisation Council, the Home Buying and Selling Group and DPMSG, amongst others, and has been a judge for the Modern Law Conveyancing Awards since their inception in 2016.
Christian Lister, a Director of CoPSO said ‘We are extremely grateful to James for his long contribution to CoPSO and the stewardship he has brought to the role of Chair. His extensive experience and knowledge of the property information industry will be hard to replace, and we wish him well for the future.’ CoPSO will take time to consider the future role of the Chair before looking to make any appointment.
