§ Mr. Heddleasked the Attorney-General if he will list in the Official Report the names of all Her Majesty's land registries in England and Wales.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe Land Registry has a headquarters office in London and has the following district offices in the provinces:
- Birkenhead
- Croydon
- Durham
- Gloucester
- Harrow
- Lytham
- Nottingham
- Peterborough
- Plymouth
- Stevenage
- Swansea
- Tunbridge
- Weymouth
Each of the above offices is designated as"The … district land registry".
There are also the Land Charges and Agricultural Credits Departments, which are at Plymouth.
§ Mr. Heddleasked the Attorney-General what is the estimated cost of the operations of Her Majesty's land registries for each of the last five years; and what is the total number of staff employed in those establishments for each of the last five years.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe expenditure in the Registration of Title Department for each of the last five financial years was as follows:
£ million 1975–1976 21.4 1976–1977 24.1 1977–1978 27.5 1978–1979 31.4 1979–1980 39.0 This expenditure has been covered by fee revenue.
The expenditure of the Land Charges and Agricultural Credits Departments during the last five years was as follows:
£ million 1975–1976 1.5 1976–1977 1.5 1977–1978 1.5 1978–1979 1.5 1979–1980 1.8 This expenditure has been covered by fee revenue.
The number of staff employed in Her Majesty's Land Registry at the end of each of the last five years was as follows:
1975–1976 5,007 1976–1977 4,949 1977–1978 5,309 1978–1979 5,543 1979–1980 5,898 It is expected that the figure at the end of the current financial year will be approximately 5,690. During the last five years the number of registered titles has increased by about 36 per cent.
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§ Mr. Heddleasked the Attorney-General what is his estimate of the average period taken by land registries to complete registrations; and what is the maximum period.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe average times currently taken for registration in cases which are in order are the same as at 6 March 1980, when I answered a similar question from my hon. Friend—namely, 24 working days for a dealing with registered land where no new title is created and 69 working days for a new title. Every effort is being made with the resources available to avoid regional differences and to reduce the completion times in offices which are experiencing particular difficulties. The periods for the registration of dealings with the whole vary between 11 and 32 working days and those for first registration of title vary between 40 and 95 working days.
§ Mr. Heddleasked the Attorney-General whether his Department has proposals for improving the service and efficiency of Her Majesty's land registries.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe service and efficiency of Her Majesty's Land Registry is under constant review. In consequence the department has been able to maintain a high level of productivity despite reductions in staff and continuing financial restraints. Good progress is being made in the development of computerisation and it is hoped that this will lead to improvements in the service.
§ Mr. Heddleasked the Attorney-General whether he will take account, when reviewing the operation of the land registry system, of the substantial interest charges which have to be borne by house builders as a direct result of the delays involved in compulsory land registration.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe special procedures for the development of registered building estates offer considerable advantages which are not available under the system of unregistered conveyancing. The Land Registry still receives applications for their registration in non-compulsory areas and accepts them despite the general suspension of first registration in those areas. Every effort is therefore made by the Land Registry to complete the first registration of building estates as quickly as possible despite the delays arising from the restraint on resources. In cases of great urgency a special expedition service is available.