Corporate report

Appendices

Published 19 July 2018

Applies to England and Wales

The appendices are not subject to audit.

Appendix A

Volumes and workloads 2017/18 and 2016/17

Application intake by type and method of receipt

2017/18 2016/17
Total applications/ products received Applications/ products received through online services % of applications/ products received through online services Total applications/ products received Applications/ products received through online services % of applications/ products received through online services
Bulk register updates (BRUs) 1,212,252 591,774
Total applications excluding BRUs 32,490,169 30,815,010 94.84 31,244,256 29,605,434 94.75
Total applications/products 33,702,421 30,815,010 91.43 31,836,030 29,605,434 92.99
Substantive applications excluding BRUs 4,991,157 4,404,442 88.24 4,905,545 4,255,148 86.74
Preliminary services products 18,759,977 18,614,357 99.22 17,794,584 17,633,247 99.09
Enquiry services applications 8,739,035 7,796,211 89.21 8,544,127 7,717,039 90.32
Total 32,490,169 30,815,010 94.84 31,244,256 29,605,434 94.75
Substantive applications excluding BRUs            
First registrations 103,751 109,030
Dispositionary first leases 215,432 196,439 91.18 230,564 199,239 86.41
Transfers of part of registered land 190,580 169,918 89.16 181,295 151,216 83.41
Dealings of whole with registered land 4,481,394 4,038,085 90.11 4,384,656 3,904,693 89.05
Total 4,991,157 4,404,442 88.24 4,905,545 4,255,148 86.74
Preliminary services products            
Official copies1 15,463,882 15,356,323 99.30 14,641,653 14,533,418 99.26
Official searches 2,528,060 2,522,514 99.78 2,381,867 2,371,719 99.57
Official searches of the index map1 768,035 735,520 95.77 771,064 726,699 94.25
Total 18,759,977 18,614,357 99.22 17,794,584 17,631,836 99.09
Enquiry services applications            
Register views 5,431,016 5,431,016 100.00 5,413,795 5,413,795 100.00
Title plan views 955,381 955,381 100.00 951,324 951,324 100.00
Document views 58,730 58,730 100.00 67,415 67,415 100.00
Correspondence 276,050 182,985 66.29 304,556 192,978 63.36
Telephone enquiries 849,759 715,510
MapSearch downloads 1,168,099 1,168,099 100.00 1,091,527 1,091,527 100.00
Total 8,739,035 7,796,211 89.21 8,544,127 7,717,039 90.32

The table above sets out the transactional activities for the year, along with comparatives for the previous year. In this financial year we serviced more than 33 million applications, fulfilling the requirements of the 2002 Land Registration Act. These form the core of our activities and the revenues associated with them. The table also details our progress towards electronic delivery, in relation to the various types of application we receive. Excluding bulk register updates (BRUs), the proportion of applications received electronically rose from 94.75% to 94.84.%.

Bulk register updates are groups of applications lodged at HM Land Registry affecting a large volume of registered titles, such as a bank changing the address for service on all of its registered charges. The levels of receipt of such applications are volatile in their nature and are therefore separated from other application types in order to avoid distortion of the data.

Note: An official copy application may result in more than one register and/or title plan being supplied.

A search of the index map application may give rise to more than one title number being revealed. For this reason the number of registers/title plans or the number of title numbers revealed are used as a metric rather than the number of applications themselves. These are termed products.

Appendix B

Land Charges and Agricultural Credits volumes and workloads 2017/18 and 2016/17

The Land Charges Department

The Land Charges Department operates under the authority of the Land Charges Act 1972.

The department maintains registers of Land Charges, pending actions, writs and orders affecting land and other encumbrances registered against the names of owners of property, which are not registered under the Land Registration Acts. The department also maintains the Index of Proprietors’ Names (IOPN). This index can be searched against only on production of the appropriate authority and is used to establish whether any property assets are held against individuals or companies.

Some elements of customer accounts are also managed in the Land Charges Department.

Type of application Number of applications or names in 2017/18 Percentage variation compared with 2016/17
New registrations, rectifications and renewals 23,689 -4.26
Cancellations 7,186 -13.10
Official searches: Full searches 145,457 -1.66
Official searches:Searches limited to insolvency 1,629,190 +8.81
Office copies 24,647 -11.31
Total 1,830,169 +3.80

The Agricultural Credits Department

The Agricultural Credits Department is responsible for maintaining a register of short-term loans by banks under Part ll of the Agricultural Credits Act 1928.

These charges are secured on farming stock and other agricultural assets of the farmer.

Year New registrations Cancellations and rectifications Searches Total
2016/17 562 675 2,293 3,530
2017/18 568 721 2,416 3,705

Appendix C

Treasury Minute

HM Land Registry Trading Fund

HM Treasury Minute dated 24 April 2012

  1. Section 4(1) of the Government Trading Funds Act 1973 (“the 1973 Act”) provides that a Trading Fund established under that Act shall be under the control and management of the responsible Minister (or, where a Trading Fund is established for operations carried on by a person appointed in pursuance of any enactment, that person, if the Order establishing the Trading Fund in accordance with section 1(6) (a) of the 1973 Act) and in the discharge of his functions in relation to the fund it shall be his duty: (a) To manage the funded operations so that the revenue of the fund: (i) Consists principally of receipts in respect of goods and services provided in the course of the funded operations, and (ii) is not less than sufficient, taking one year with another, to meet outgoings which are properly chargeable to revenue account; and (b) To achieve such further financial objectives as the Treasury may from time to time, by minute laid before the House of Commons, indicate as having been determined by the responsible Minister (with Treasury concurrence) to be desirable of achievement.
  2. The Trading Fund for HM Land Registry was established on 1 April 1993 under the Land Registry Trading Fund Order 1993 (SI 1993 No.938). Article 3 (2) of that Order provides that the Trading Fund shall be under the control and management of the Chief Land Registrar. Additional assets were appropriated to the Trading Fund on 11 March 1996 under the Land Registry Trading Fund (Additional Assets) Order 1996 (SI 1996 No. 750). On 13 October 2003, the Trading Fund was extended and amended under the Land Registry Trading Fund (Extension and Amendment) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No. 2094).
  3. The Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, being the responsible Minister for the purposes of section 4(1)(b) of the 1973 Act, has determined (with Treasury concurrence) that a further financial objective desirable of achievement by HM Land Registry to achieve, over the period from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2017, a return, averaged over the period as a whole, of at least 3.5 per cent real (see note) in accordance with Managing Public Money. This will take the form of an operating surplus on ordinary activities post exceptional items and interest (payable and receivable), but before dividends, expressed as a percentage of average capital employed. Capital employed shall equate to the total assets from which shall be deducted the total liabilities.
  4. This Minute supersedes that dated 15 December 2003.
  5. Let a copy of this Minute be laid before the House of Commons pursuant to section 4(1)(b) of the Government Trading Funds Act 1973.

Note
3.5 per cent real will be calculated annually as 3.5 per cent plus the latest inflation estimate for that year, provided by ONS. By way of a worked example, for the fiscal year 2012/13 the financial target will be 6.29 per cent. This has been calculated as (1+3.5 per cent)* (1+ 2.7 p er cent), where 2.7 per cent is the ONS 2012/13 inflation estimate (National Accounts figures from the ONS, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_ gdp _fig.htm, 22 December 2011).

HM Treasury
24 April 2012

Appendix D

Sustainability historical data

Carbon data (tonnes)

Year Year-on-year greenhouse gas (GHG) target Forecast GHG (including initiatives) Actual GHG Actual percentage reduction (cumulative)
2009/10 (baseline) 14,326 14,326 14,326 0%
2010/11 13,610 14,326 13,099 -9%
2011/12 12,893 14,326 11,211 -22%
2012/13 12,177 14,326 11,340 -21%
2013/14 11,461 14,326 9,128 -36%
2014/15 10,745 13,176 8,656 -41%
2015/16 9,885 9,885 8,392 -41%
2016/17 8,596 8,596 7,328 -49%
2017/18 8,596 8,596 7,361 -49%

The greenhouse gas draft target is to reduce emissions by 31% by March 2020 over the baseline data for 2009/10.

Gross emissions have reduced by 49% over the baseline.

Waste arising (tonnes)

Year Year-on-year waste target Forecast waste (including initiatives) Actual waste Actual percentage reduction (cumulative)
2009/10 (baseline) 1,979 1,979 1,979 0%
2010/11 1,880 1,979 1,443 -27%
2011/12 1,781 1,979 1,689 -15%
2012/13 1,682 1,979 1,421 -28%
2013/14 1,583 1,979 959 -51%
2014/15 1,484 1,979 907 -54%
2015/16 1,484 1,484 1,106 -44%
2016/17 1,484 1,484 1,048 -47%
2017/18 1,484 1,484 1,041 -47%

The table shows the trend for waste arising against the Greening Government Commitments reduction target of 25% by March 2020. A 47% reduction was achieved. Of the waste arising 741 tonnes is paper sent for processing through the paper recycling contract.

This paper equates to 71% of our total waste arising.

Water reduction (cubic metres)

Year Year-on-year water target Forecast water (including initiatives) Actual water Actual percentage reduction (cumulative)
2009/10 (baseline) 57,214 57,214 57,214 0%
2010/11 54,353 57,214 54,644 -4%
2011/12 51,493 57,214 37,413 -35%
2012/13 48,631 57,214 31,230 -45%
2013/14 45,771 56,984 36,037 -37%
2014/15 42,910 56,984 38,153 -33%
2015/16 45,772 45,772 36,395 -36%
2016/17 42,911 42,911 34,967 -39%
2017/18 42,911 42,911 41,130 -28%

A 28% reduction in water consumption has been achieved against a target of 25%. Consumption per full-time equivalent, including staff on HM Land Registry sites from other government departments, is 6m³.

Appendix E

Indemnity Fund

In 2017/18, we paid £5,445,825 for 852 claims, compared with £6,957,904 for 995 claims in 2016/17. The largest claim paid this year was for a register entry error where we had omitted a restrictive covenant entry, the payment being for £930,248. Fraud (usually by way of forgery) still remains the single most significant cause of indemnity payments and this reflects the general trend over the past decade or so, although this year the percentage of fraud payment was 48.4% compared with 71% last year.

The original maximum value of the substantive claims paid was £10,351,639 but these were settled for £4,230,021 saving £6,121,618. During the year a further 185 claims valued at £2,587,146 were settled for no value. Of these nine were for fraud and were valued at £1,781,375. During the year 1,068 new claims were received totalling £17,627,003, including 55 fraud claims valued at £11,552,775.

We recovered £554,766 under our statutory rights of recourse, compared with £308,388 last year. Recourse figures tend to vary considerably from year to year, reflecting the unpredictable interplay of legal and factual elements which will determine the viability of achieving any recovery.

Nature of claim Number of claims Substantive loss (£) Costs (£) Percentage of total
Extent of registered titles 133 440,099 350,902 14.52
Errors in/omissions from register entries 72 1,400,011 181,695 29.04
Sundry plans errors 12 166,800 59,287 4.15
Fraud and forgery 26 2,157,467 478,466 48.40
Official inspections of title plans 11 27,614 7,473 0.64
Bankruptcy errors 1 482 0 0.01
Official searches 7 3,685 5,068 0.16
Official copies 0 0 0 0
Errors in searches of the index map (SIMs) 4 1,050 3,684 0.09
Errors in filed extracts 283 1,702 55,541 1.05
Lost documents/administrative errors 303 31,111 73,687 1.92
Land Charges errors 0 0 0 0
Total 852 4,230,021 1,215,804 100
Gross payment       £5,445,825
Less sums recovered under our statutory right of recourse       £554,776
Net indemnity       £4,891,049