BRITISH PROFESSIONS TODAY: THE STATE OF ... - Property Week

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Table of contents >> 1 Introduction 1 1.1 What is a profession? 3 1.2 History of the professions 3 1.3 Declining public perceptions 5 2 Changing regulatory structures 8 2.1 Why regulate? 9 2.2 Historical development 11 2.3 Regulated self-regulation 13 2.4 Case study: the legal professions 14 3 The professional economy 17 3.1 Output 19 3.2 Business creation 20 3.3 Productivity 21 3.4 Balance of payments and trade 22 3.5 Employment 23 3.6 UK professions in Europe 23 4 Social and political contributions 24 4.1 Social mobility 25 4.2 Political consultation 27 4.3 Case study: RICS and Home Information Packs (HIPs) 30 References 36 Appendices 38 1. Lord Benson’s criteria for the 38 professions 2. Personal interviews 39 Tables, Lists and Charts Percentage of total UK output 19 (real UK GDP) by sector VAT registrations and deregistrations 20 as a percentage of stock Output per employed job 21 by sector (£000s, current prices) 2006 balance of payments, 22 other business services (£ million) 2006 balance of payments, 22 trade in services (£ million) Percentage of total UK employment 23 by sector Professional influence in official 29 parliamentary proceedings 5 Conclusion 32 5.1 Summary of findings 33 5.2 Vision for the future 35 © Spada. Some rights reserved. As the originator of this work, Spada, together with our study sponsors RICS, the Law Society, and CIMA, want to encourage the circulation of this research as widely as possible while retaining the copyright. We have therefore developed an open access policy enabling anyone to access this content online without charge. Anyone can download, save, perform or distribute this work in any format, including translation, without written permission. This is, however, subject to the following terms: • Spada is credited as author; RICS, the Law Society, and CIMA are credited as study sponsors • The address www.spada.co.uk is displayed • The text is not altered and is used in full • The work is not resold • A copy of the work or link to its use online is sent to Spada
Foreword >> This research by Spada was prompted by the informal collaboration of a working group of professional membership bodies, which gathered in the interest of the public good to encourage debate about the role of the professions in society. The group, which included the Law Society and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Bar Council, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, shared concerns about declining public esteem for the professions, the associated disadvantage in the recruitment of young talent, and the sometimes damaging lack of government consultation on issues of relevant technical expertise. As a way of grounding their discussions, and in order to gain an overall snapshot of the professions in the UK, the group commissioned Spada to research the history of British professions and their current import to our national economy, political life and civil society. As we undertook this research, however, we found that the report occupied a unique place within the extant sociological, political, and economic literature on the professions. Currently, no other document brings together a summary of the British professions’ history and structures, their various roles and contributions to society, and a vision for the future. Three of the group’s member bodies, The Law Society, RICS, and CIMA, have decided to publish the findings as a condensed report in order to provide a public forum for further discussion of these issues. British Professions Today: The State of the Sector thus represents a first attempt to set forth a compact overview of the value and scope of British professions. Spada’s research is a limited reconnaissance of a vast and complex subject. The picture of the professions that emerges, at a juncture when many are undergoing transformation, is a fascinating one. Despite their obvious influence and involvement in almost every aspect of people’s lives, at every level of the bodies politic and economic, and their extraordinary economic contribution (as the research documents), the professions do not represent a collective force in the eyes of our policy makers and opinion-formers. Hitherto, most professions have tended to think narrowly of their own discipline and their own individual roles in public life. Our research suggests that there may indeed be a place for a united, clear and powerful professional voice in our public life, but only if the professions can first recognise the extent of, and limits to, their own latent power in combination. In this latter respect, we hope the research starts the process of building up ‘self-knowledge’. How do we sustain our prosperity and our competitiveness as a nation? How do we achieve an appropriately skilled workforce, and a more meritorious civil society? How can politicians originate better policies and better legislation? Who will guarantee fair play in the market place? Who will set the moral tone in business and society (so that we become more trust- and principles-based and less fettered by over-regulation and legislation)? How can complex knowledge businesses learn from one another? These are some of the fundamental questions that the professions might be well placed to address with a collective effort. Finally, the Spada team would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have given so generously of their time to furnish many of the insights that have gone into this document. Gavin Ingham Brooke Managing Director, Spada Limited Ana Catalano Research Consultant, Spada Limited British Professions Today: The State of the Sector © Spada Limited 2009 i
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Page 7 and 8: 1Introduction >>
Page 9 and 10: 1.1 What is a profession? There is
Page 11 and 12: The unique role of trust in profess
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Page 17 and 18: 2.2 Historical development The curr
Page 19 and 20: 2.3 Regulated self-regulation Regul
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Page 23 and 24: 3The professional economy >>
Page 25 and 26: Our data has been sourced from the
Page 27 and 28: 3.3 Productivity Industry productiv
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Page 31 and 32: Social and political contributions
Page 33 and 34: Civil society Given the decline in
Page 35 and 36: The period of analysis is, for most
Page 37 and 38: The Law Society, too, felt that the
Page 39 and 40: Conclusion >> The best augury of a
Page 41 and 42: 5.2 Vision for the future Professio
Page 43 and 44: Harris, Charles Phillip. 1999. Lobb
Page 45 and 46: 2. Personal interviews Name Title A
Page 47 and 48: All photography by Warwick Sweeney

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