Lord Young of Cookham:

Moved by Lord Young of Cookham

62: After Clause 109, insert the following new Clause—“Training and qualifications of property agents(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations require that individuals undertaking the activities of a property agent in respect of—(a) estate management of leasehold properties, (b) sale of leasehold properties, and(c) sale of freehold properties subject to estate management or service chargesmust have, or be working toward, specific mandatory qualifications, as defined by regulations made under subsection (2), to demonstrate competency to undertake their property agency roles.(2) Regulations under this section—(a) are to be made by statutory instrument,(b) may make provision generally or only in relation to specific cases,(c) may make different provision for different purposes,(d) may include supplementary, incidental, or transitional provision,(e) may specify classes or types of employees who must be qualified and the appropriate qualification level for each such group,(f) may specify syllabuses and testing methods for qualifications,(g) may specify means of training provision and minimum training hours, and(h) may approve providers for the provision of training and qualifications.(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to the negative procedure.”