The Independent Qualified Conveyancers (Scotland) Regulations 1997

PART VI FURTHER TRAINING AND STUDY

Further Training and Study

31.—(1) In order to maintain appropriate standards of conduct and practice, an independent qualified conveyancer shall undertake relevant further training and study to develop his professional knowledge, skills and abilities including in particular, education and study in specific areas and topics, management skills and organisation, communication and client care skills, other areas relevant to the independent qualified conveyancers practice and any area designed to develop his ability to operate effectively as an independent qualified conveyancer.

(2) The amount and nature of the relevant further training and study required by an independent qualified conveyancer in each practice year shall be determined in accordance with regulations 32 and 33 respectively.

(3) An independent qualified conveyancer shall, within a period not exceeding 1 year from the date on which his name has been annotated on the register under section 17(7), attend a course on professional ethics and practice management provided by the Board.

(4) An independent qualified conveyancer attending a course required by paragraph (3) above may include such training as part of his further training and study requirement for the practice year in which he attended the course.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation and regulations 32 to 34–

“practice year” means a year beginning on the first day of April and ending on the 31st day of the following March;

“private study” means study undertaken by less than three persons together including without prejudice to the foregoing generality, distance learning by audio, visual, or correspondence courses, television and radio courses, and computer-based learning, the reading of relevant periodicals and books and writing relevant books or articles in periodicals or text books which are published;

“group study” means study in a group of three or more people which lasts for a minimum of half an hour and includes without prejudice to the foregoing generality, discussion groups, tutorials, study meetings of special interest groups, workshops, seminars or courses whether provided in-house or by independent qualified conveyancer firms, groups of firms, the Board or any other provider;

“management skills” includes, without prejudice to its generality, training in professional ethics, financial and business management, budget control, computer skills, foreign languages, interview techniques, setting priorities and time management.

Amount of further training and study

32.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), for every 150 hours which an independent qualified conveyancer works in a practice year, he shall be required to undertake an hour of further training and study in that year.

(2) No independent qualified conveyancer shall be required to undertake more than 20 hours of further training and study in any practice year.

(3) The requirement in paragraph (1) shall not apply to any independent qualified conveyancer–

(a) who works for 150 hours or less in a practice year; or

(b) whose name has been annotated on the register under section 17(7) during the practice year; or

(c) who has been removed from the register or whose annotation has been removed during the practice year.

Nature of further training and study

33.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), the further training and study which an independent qualified conveyancer is required to undertake in a practice year shall be comprised of group study and private study.

(2) A minimum of three quarters of the amount of further training and study which an independent qualified conveyancer is required to undertake in a practice year shall be comprised of group study.

(3) A minimum of one quarter of any group study which is required to be undertaken by an independent qualified conveyancer in any practice year shall be comprised of management skills.

(4) An independent qualified conveyancer, who gives relevant further training and study to other independent qualified conveyancer or qualified persons may include as part of the group study which he requires to undertake in any practice year–

(a) the time spent giving the further training and study; and

(b) the time spent preparing for giving such further training and study, up to a maximum of 4 hours.

Monitoring of further training and study

34.—(1) An independent qualified conveyancer shall keep a record showing all the further training and study which he has undertaken in a practice year.

(2) An independent qualified conveyancer shall send to the Board, within one month after the end of each practice year, a copy of his record card for that practice year.