SRA confirms it will pause COLP/COFA separation proposals
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed it will pause plans to separate the role of Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) from individuals with “unilateral decision making” responsibilities, after push back from across the legal profession. In a statement released today said Aileen Armstrong, SRA executive […]
Lacklustre or resilient? Latest transaction figures divide opinion
Transaction volumes in the housing market are either “lacklustre” or demonstrate continued resilience according to commentators as the number of property transactions in August stayed largely static compared with July 2026. The latest housing market statistics from HMRC show seasonally adjusted residential transactions in August 2026 are 1% lower than July 2026, decreasing from 96,650 […]
LSB chair warns international regulators to look ahead to pre-empt AI risk
The chair of the Legal Services Board (LSB), Monisha Shah, has warned regulators to “identify emerging risks before they become system challenges” and protect consumers while supporting innovation. In her opening remarks at the International Conference of Legal Regulators, Shah praised the “opportunities” presented by new technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), but emphasised the […]
Sales agreed fall by 9% year on year – Zoopla
The number of sales agreed has fallen by 9% when compared to the same period 12 months ago according to the latest data from Zoopla. Comparing market activity data from 18 August to 20 September last year with the same period this year, the property portal said it had also seen a 5% increase in the […]
Planning approvals for new homes figures collapse to new low according to HBF
New figures analysed by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) show the number of new homes receiving planning permission has fallen by 21% in the last quarter, HBF’s latest Housing Pipeline report shows 45,315 new homes received planning permission in England in Q2 2026, the lowest quarterly total since 2012. In the year to Q2 2026, […]
Eight questions to ask any AI supplier, including your own
In the fifth of a series on safely adopting AI, Ed Molyneux offers a short and occasionally awkward checklist that separates an AI tool a firm can genuinely govern from a confident brochure. The SRA’s warning notice tells firms, before using AI with client data, to confirm that the data stays in a secure […]