Boards and Board Members

Board Members support the activities of the Master and the Faculty Office.
The meetings of the Board are attended by the Senior Management Team but there are independent chairs who (working with the SMT) set the agendas. The Chair of the Advisory Board also meets with the Master to update the Master on discussions and progress, particularly around those of the Master’s Annual Priorities which the Advisory Board is to oversee.

Senior Officers

Morag Ellis KC – Master of Faculties
Howard Dellar – Registrar
Ian Blaney – Deputy Registrar
Neil Turpin – Chief Clerk

The Advisory Board

Mark Craig (Chair – Lay)
Jonathan Coutts (Scrivener)
Michael Heap (Lay) (Acting Chair)
Elaine Standish (Notary)
Christopher Vaughan (Notary)
Michael Lightowler (Notary) Christopher Matthews Maxwell Claire Curtis Thomas

The role of the Advisory Board is set out in the Notaries (Advisory Board) Rules 2008

and is to advise the Master and the Registrar on any matter relating to the notarial profession in England and Wales and its regulation which is referred to it by:

  • the Master or the Registrar;
  • (or on behalf of) a body representing notaries in practice in England or Wales; or
  •  any other body or person provided that the Board considers that the matter to be referred to it is of sufficient general interest to or in connection with the notarial profession to justify its consideration

The Advisory Board may also consider:

“ …. any matter pertaining to the notarial profession in England and Wales and its regulation notwithstanding that it has not been referred to the Board”

The Advisory Board meets quarterly. Minutes are published. Further details here.

The Qualifications Board

List of Chair and members 
Nicholas Hatzis – Chair  (Lay)

Nicholas is a senior lecturer in law. He is not a notary. Previously, he was research fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and référendaire in the Chambers of Advocate General Poiares Maduro at the Court of Justice of the European Union. His interests are in public law, torts, EU law, media law and civil procedure.

Members

Sophie Milburn (Notary)
Nicola Plant (Notary)
Jenni Kennedy
Cat Farrow
Elaine Standish (Notary)
Alex Galloway
Roger Eastman The Reverend Christopher Smith

Expert Advisors

Iain Rogers
Anna Ostrowska 
Ugljesa Grusic

The remit of the Qualifications Board is to advise the Master and those seeking to qualify as notaries:

  • whether a degree or other qualification course should be approved by the Master for those qualifying as a notary
  • on the standard of the qualifications of any person applying for admission as a notary under the rules
  • on the qualifications and experience of persons applying for recognition that they are eligible for admission as a notary having been admitted or qualified as a notary in another jurisdiction

The Master has delegated to the Qualifications Board the award of exemptions from the academic stage of training (NB an “exemption” in this case doesn’t mean that the candidate does not have to satisfy the requirements of the curriculum of the academic stage, but that the candidate has demonstrated that they have satisfied it and don’t need to take a course in it again). The consideration of any application for exemption is an important role. The award of an exemption requires an in-depth understanding of the subject for which the exemption is being sought in order to assess whether the applicant has achieved the requisite level of knowledge through another examination or in office experience. Exemptions must also be applied consistently to ensure fairness. The Board generally meets four times a year.