HM Land Registry Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17
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HM Land Registry Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17 Starting our transformation Report presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 101 of the Land Registration Act 2002. Accounts presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 4(6)(a) of the Government Trading Funds Act 1973 as amended by the Government Trading Act 1990 Schedule 1, paragraph (6A), (b). HM Land Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed Registry on 18 July 2017. Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17 HC84 © Crown copyright 2017 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit: nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- governmentlicence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/government/ publications. For enquiries regarding this publication call Customer Support on 0300 006 0411 or email [email protected]; for press enquiries call the Press Office on 0300 006 7543. Print ISBN 9781474145619 Web ISBN 9781474145626 ID 24051701 07/17 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum. Printed in the UK by the Williams Lea Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Cover: US Embassy building in Nine Elms, London. Registered to the United States of America by HM Land Registry in January 2010. Carl Court/Getty Images This page: John James/DigitalVision/Getty Images Who we are and what we do 4 Foreword Chair’s statement by Michael Mire 8 Overview Interview with Graham Farrant, Chief Executive 10 and Chief Land Registrar Performance report 16 Our digital transformation 18 Smart working in HM Land Registry 22 Our values in action 26 The law firm inside HM Land Registry 28 Our experts – HM Land Registry’s people 30 Why sustainability matters 34 Performance analysis Director of Finance’s report 36 Our performance 44 Sustainability performance 52 Performance on other matters 58 Other information 59 Accountability report Contents Corporate governance report 63 Remuneration and staff report 78 Parliamentary accountability and audit report 90 Certificate and report of the Comptroller and 92 Auditor General to the Houses of Parliament Financial statements 94 Appendices 121 Who we are and what we do We register ownership, interests, and mortgages The head of HM Land Registry is the Chief Land and other secured loans against land and property in Registrar, appointed under statute by the Secretary England and Wales. of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS, formerly known as BIS – Business, Innovation and Skills) who has Parliamentary responsibility for Our ambition HM Land Registry and for the legislation under which HM Land Registry is committed to becoming the we operate. The Secretary of State’s day-to-day world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and lead for HM Land Registry issues on his ministerial an open approach to data, and aiming to achieve team is currently the Parliamentary Under Secretary comprehensive registration by 2030. of State. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department of Energy and Our mission Climate Change (DECC) merged in July 2016 to form Your land and property rights: guaranteed and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial protected. Strategy (BEIS). Our functions are entirely statutory. We have no Our primary role prerogative powers. The Land Registration Act 2002 Provide a reliable record of information about empowers us to deal with “the business of registration the ownership of and interests affecting land and under this Act” and is our primary governing statute. property. The Infrastructure Act 2015 enabled HM Land Provide land and property owners with a title which is Registry to undertake new services that would further guaranteed by the state. improve the conveyancing process or benefit the Provide the financial sector with the capability to wider property sector. The first step we are taking is secure lending against property. to create a digitised local land charges register that will improve access to data, standardise fees and Our values underpin everything we do improve turnaround times for property professionals We give and citizens. Our services assurance Register change services – every plot of registered land is given a unique register title with a corresponding title number and plan. Properties are We have sold, homes and office buildings are re-mortgaged, people get married or property is transferred when owners pass away, buildings are split into several flats integrity and new developments completed. Making changes to the register and creating new titles can be complex and highly technical so this is where our expert We drive caseworkers focus their knowledge and experience. Register query services – we hold one of the largest innovation transactional property databases which we allow anyone to view for a small fee but our guaranteed and official searches provide even greater protection We are and assurance to property professionals and citizens. These services are almost entirely automated so customers can get results instantly, making professional conveyancing quicker. Other services – our Land Charges service protects Our statutory duties interests in unregistered land and we maintain the HM Land Registry was established in 1862. We are a bankruptcy index for England and Wales. We also non-ministerial government department, an executive offer commercial services to organisations who want agency (since 1990) and a trading fund (since 1993) to use our data. For example, lenders can validate that makes no call on funds voted by Parliament. By mortgages by confirming their priority and status on statute we are required to ensure that our income the Land Register. from fees covers all of our expenditure under normal operating conditions. 4 Annual service revenues Who we are and and volumes 2016/17 Applications for services 94.8% what we do 31.8 million received through electronic channels Total income £311.4m REGISTER Register change services Update Leasehold creation Splitting New title existing title from existing title freehold titles creation £155.5m £30.6m £32.1m £8.3m LEASEHOLD Intake volume Intake volume Intake volume Intake volume 5.0m 0.2m 0.2m 0.1m REGISTER Register query services Official Views of MapSearch copies of the register (PDF) the register Intake volume £44.0m £19.1m 1.1m Intake volume Intake volume 6.4m 14.6m Official Guaranteed search searches of of the index map the register £1.1m GUARANTEED £2.4m Intake volume Intake volume 0.8m 2.4m Other services £100 Land Charges Commercial services £6.3m £5.6m 5 Annual service revenues and volumes 2016/17 Daily average workload All services Register change services Register query services Update existing title 19,515 76,937 New freehold or leasehold Register change services title creation 428 21,558 Leasehold creation from Enquiry services existing title 904 4,265 75+214A 90+24+4A Splitting freehold titles 711 Income Customers who rate our services as good, very good or excellent £100 £311.4m 90.3% Operating costs £241.9m Retained surplus Registered titles 24.8m £45.7m Dividend £18.9m Registered land in England and Wales 84.3% 12,745,582 hectares 14 locations Employees 4,862 Permanent full-time equivalent 4,148 Female 60% Male 40% Part-time £72,500 35% raised by colleagues for charity Apprentices 277 6 Our strategy Transformation Delivering benefits through strong governance, planning Digital and implementation. Digitising our services and the register, modernising our IT and maximising the Customers re-use of our data. Meeting the changing needs of our customers to make conveyancing simpler, faster and cheaper. Our mission Your land and property rights: guaranteed and protected Our ambition The world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data. Estate Right sizing our estate and embedding smart working to create modern efficient People work environments. Empowering our people, developing capability, Financial building capacity and Ensuring value for modernising the money and a robust organisation. financial plan. £100 7 Foreword 8 Chair’s statement by Michael Mire Ultimately our goal is for HM Land Registry to be HM Land Registry’s reputation for accuracy, integrity globally viewed as one of the very best. This is why and professionalism, and our dedicated expert we are starting a transformation that will see HM colleagues, are our most cherished assets. We are Land Registry becoming almost fully digitised with a starting our transformation but not forgetting our modernised culture that recognises the contribution of history. It is a huge privilege for me to chair an all our colleagues. organisation so important to the country and to its customers. Digitisation will allow us to provide our customers – citizens, firms, government, lawyers and conveyancers, and financial institutions – with information and data which are renowned for their accuracy and usefulness. HM Land Registry’s strategy is to make its part in developing, buying and selling land and property, and collateralising mortgages and loans to provide finance, almost totally frictionless. This will not distract us from our central mission. HM Land Registry will always ensure that property rights and financial rights over property are guaranteed and protected. We will continue to provide an unlimited state-backed guarantee for free through our indemnity scheme. Our property price data will continue to be the basis of the country’s most trusted source of valuation insight. But the transformation programme will reinforce our mission by making its delivery more effective, far quicker and much simpler. Our Annual Report describes how the transformation will unfold. Digital is pivotal but culture is what will make it succeed.