CLC introduces reporting requirement for practices as part of new Ongoing Competence Code

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is introducing a new reporting requirement for its practices to help maintain high standards and strengthen consumer protections.

The requirement is part of the regulator’s new Ongoing Competence Code, a practical guide for lawyers and practices showing what works well and how competence can be maintained and strengthened. It is designed to support the CLC’s Code of Conduct which was also revised at the start of last year.

For individual lawyers, the code requires that they complete and report on a minimum of eight ongoing competence activities each year, four of which must be assessed activities and may include written scores or feedback on work verified by a senior colleague. This is to ensure that learning has been properly understood, reflected upon, and embedded, and that lawyers are able to apply their knowledge and skills effectively in their day-to-day practice.

Alongside the individual requirements, the CLC is also introducing a new practice-wide reporting requirement. This is intended to bring together learning and development across supervision, compliance and management leads, so that ongoing competence is treated and recorded as part of day-to-day governance and risk management.

There is no minimum number of activities for practices to complete; instead, practices will record and report relevant activity to their key compliance personnel, which includes CLC-registered managers, heads of legal practice (HoLPs), heads of finance and administration (HoFAs) and money laundering reporting officers (MLROs).

Practices must nominate a reporting officer who will be responsible for reporting this activity to the CLC, the first deadline for which will be 31 October 2027.

The regulator will take a supportive approach during the first cycle, which begins on 1 November 2026, while practices build confidence in the new reporting regime.

Claire Richardson, director of authorisations at the CLC, says:

“By introducing a formal reporting requirement for practices, the CLC is the first legal services regulator to require firms to account annually for how ongoing competence is being used in a strategic and structured way to support, improve and assure the delivery of legal services.

We already know from our close monitoring and inspection work that most practices are committed to maintaining high standards and take ongoing competence extremely seriously.

This new approach is designed to support that and encourage planning. At the same time, it will shine a light on practices that aren’t implementing ongoing competence strategically within their compliance function and management teams.

Our focus, as always, is on improving competence but also supporting better outcomes for consumers and practices through clear expectations, proportionate evidence requirements and a framework that promotes continuous improvement.”

Kindly shared by The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) Picture courtesy of Adobe