Licensed conveyancer fees frozen for third year running

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has announced it is freezing regulatory fees for the third successive year.

Individual licences have once again been fixed at £400 while entity fees will continue to be based on a calculation of a firm's turnover.

The CLC has also confirmed plans to streamline the way it meets its core responsibility of consumer protection through the regulation of specialist property lawyers.

The council recently secured the power to issue stand-alone licences to probate practitioners and will soon be announcing major changes to arrangements for education leading to licence as a CLC lawyer, whether licensed conveyancer or probate practitioner.

The chief executive of the CLC, Sheila Kumar, said: 'At the CLC we are working hard to ensure that our model of specialist regulation of specialist property lawyers delivers all of the benefits it possibly can to the consumer as well as to individual lawyers and the legal businesses that we regulate.'

The council is also putting the finishing touches to a major staff reorganisation that it says will deliver improved performance and customer service through a tighter staff team located in London.

'Through improved infrastructure and changed staffing arrangements, we will be able to offer an improved service to the regulated community and others with whom we work closely,' added Kumar.

'The new teams are reviewing the way we work with a view to making large or small changes that will improve efficiency and effectiveness and so the value for money of our operations. I am very pleased that we have been able to make these improvements without increasing the burden on the profession.'