Our Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) is expanding strongly internationally, and no more so than in Scotland, where Ysella Jago and Susanne Gibson have now both been tasked with rolling out our programme.

They arranged the first DRS International Accredited Mediator Training Programme in Scotland, which ran in the new RICS offices in Edinburgh just before the referendum. The results have just come in from the assessors and we are delighted to announce that the delegates achieved a 100 per cent pass rate. This is the first time this has ever happened and is testimony to the hard work and commitment of all the delegates.

This augers exceptionally well for the development of a strong Scottish presence on the RICS International President’s Panel of Mediators which RICS can promote with confidence in Scotland and around the world.

The RICS International Accredited Mediator Training Programme is enormously demanding as we have to get people to the point that we, as RICS, are satisfied that we can actually put them out there to provide the parties with a real and effective alternative to going to court.

RICS’s robust approach to commercial mediation in the built environment sector is based on common sense and pragmatism. These values resonated with the delegates in Scotland and this unprecedented result comes as no surprise – congratulations to everyone.