The completion of the e-conveyancing consultation has resulted in the Lord Chancellor’s Department endorsing the Land Registry’s status as the organisation at the forefront of the e-conveyancing programme.
In a written statement to the House of Lords, Baroness Scotland, the parliamentary secretary to the Lord Chancellor’s Department, said: “In the light of the Land Registry’s successful consultation exercise, I have agreed that they should continue to lead the development of electronic conveyancing in England and Wales.”
Last year, the Registry was granted £15m from the capital modernisation fund to develop and pilot a new e-conveyancing system. This followed an earlier grant of £1.5m from the government’s invest-to-save budget.
The Registry has already taken several steps in preparing its infrastructure for e-conveyancing. A new building is under construction in Plymouth; this will be used to increase the Registry’s IT capacity, and will house up to 500 people.
A special task force has also been established to administer the development of the new system. This comprises 18 permanent members, including Ian Goodall, who leads the directorate’s administrative function, and Steve Kelway, general counsel to the task force.
References: Propert-e News 9/4/2003
