65 and 66. Mr. Talbot askedthe Attorney-General (1) whether he is aware that since August, 1963,there has been a deterioration in the service given by the Land Registry to solicitors and that search certificates which were formerly dealt with by return of post are now taking up to 10 days; and what steps are being taken to remedy the position;
(2) whether he will ensure that until the arrears in the department of the Chief Registrar of the Land Registry are brought up to date, this department will be required to work on Saturday mornings; what period of time will elapse before a normal service is resumed by the Chief Registrar; and what steps are being taken to hasten this result.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe delays in issuing certificates of the results of official searches in the Land Charges Department of the Land Registry, to which I assume that my hon. Friend refers, have, since August, been reduced to periods ranging from three to five days. There has, therefore, been a welcome improvement and not a deterioration in the service provided.
This improvement has been brought about in a number of ways: by the Chief Land Registrar recruiting and training additional staff immediately the remarkable and quite unexpected increase in the department's work became apparent; by the commendable efforts of the staff, many of whom have worked during evenings and, for many weeks, on Saturdays and even on Sundays; by the employment of temporary and part-time staff; and by increased efficiency in the department resulting from organisational and other changes. I hope that the normal position will be restored next month without the resumption of work on Saturdays, which is not desirable as many members of the staff are married women.