WIREDGOV

Land Registry, the government department responsible for land registration in England and Wales, gives an upbeat assessment of its work over the past 12 months in its Annual Report and Accounts 2007/8 published last week.

Introducing the report, Chief Land Registrar and Chief Executive Peter Collis concedes that the recent slump in the property market is a challenge for Land Registry. While the first six months of the year saw record intakes, this was followed by a slowdown in transactions as the year drew to a close. But Mr Collis says he is confident Land Registry will "cope with any eventuality" and points to the department's diversification beyond core registration and information services.

In addition to the monthly House Price Index, widely regarded as the most authoritative guide to the trend in prices, Land Registry's education and training programmes are gaining in popularity, while its commercial services are adding value for business customers.

Gross income from added value product service sales has increased from £1.8 million in the year to March 2007 to £3.2 million in the year to March 2008. These funds can be reinvested in future services or used to improve the quality of existing services. Work on electronic services also continued apace in 2007/8, with the introduction of a new system for attaching electronic signatures to documents, paving the way for the electronic lodgement of applications with deeds attached.

Coverage of the Land Register has increased from 48 per cent of England and Wales three years ago to 64 per cent today, with the Longleat Estate and parts of Snowdonia and Salisbury Plain among the new registrations completed during the year.



Notes to editors

1. Land Registry Annual Report and Accounts 2007/8 is available from TSO shops and http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/ price £18.55. Media copies are available from the Press Office on 020 7166 4543. The press notice and report are also available in Welsh. Please contact the Press Office for a copy or visit http://www.cofrestrfatir.gov.uk/  

2. An online Annual Review summarising Land Registry's activities during 2007/8 can be viewed at www1.landregistry.gov.uk/ar08

3. With the world's largest online property database of its kind, detailing over 21 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.

4. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been an open document since 1990.

5. For further information about Land Registry, please visit http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/