§ 69. Mr. Mathewasked the Attorney-General what progress has been made in the implementing of land registration under the Land Registration Act; what compulsory areas have already been declared; which are likely to be declared in the near future; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-GeneralApproximately a quarter of all conveyancing transactions in England and Wales are now registered in Her Majesty's Land Registry.
Registration of title is compulsory on sale in the administrative Counties of London, Middlesex, Surrey and (except in the parts nearest to London) Kent, and in the County Boroughs of Eastbourne, Hastings, Croydon, the City of Oxford, Oldham, Leicester and the City of Canterbury. Elsewhere large areas of land are being registered voluntarily.
The compulsory area will be extended to the rest of Kent in 1961. It is also hoped to extend it to Manchester and Salford in the course of next year in response to resolutions passed by their City Councils. Resolutions requesting inclusion in the compulsory area have also been passed by the Councils of the administrative County of Bedford and of the County Boroughs of Huddersfield and Blackburn.
It is intended to extend the compulsory area further as fast as the availability of up-to-date Ordnance Survey maps and the recruitment and training of staff permits.