Corporate report

Business Plan 2022 to 2025

Published 31 August 2022

Applies to England and Wales

1. Foreword

1.1 Simon Hayes, Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar

In this Business Plan, we set out how we are focused on delivering an improved service for our customers while laying the foundations of our future role in a digital property market and wider economy over the next three years. You can also read more about our future vision in our new Strategy 2022+.

In 2021-22, we received around 135,00 service requests from our customers every day.

We provide a fast and efficient customer experience for those essential services that enable properties to change hands without delay.

We received approximately 115,00 information services requests every day. Over 90% of these are automated and available instantly. The remainder require manual intervention and we deliver 95% of these within our two-day service standard.

Changes to the register usually take place after a transaction has been completed and each application is protected from the moment it is submitted to us. These can be fast-tracked at no extra charge where there is an urgent need for the registration to be completed. We process around 1000 of these expedited applications each day, with 95% completed within ten working days.

Other non-urgent post-completion requests (around 19,000 applications a day) are taking longer than our customers would like. Today our overall output is higher than it was three years ago, before the pandemic hit, but it has still not been able to keep pace at all times with the rapid increase in applications that we have received.

As outlined in our strategy, the cyclical nature of the property market means that we have traditionally gone through periods in which we amass a backlog of applications. This Business Plan aims to tackle the current backlog whilst making the organisation more resilient to market volatility in the longer-term.

More broadly, it sets out how we will:

• Deliver an improved speed of service for our customers through investment in digital transformation and caseworker capacity that will enable us to keep pace with the market and make our service delivery more resilient to future demand. By the end of three years we will have eradicated the backlog of applications we hold today and significantly increased the speed of our services.

• Lay the foundations for our future role in a digital property market and maximise our impact on the wider economy. The digital registers of the future – including the Local Land Charges Register– will help support a more efficient and transparent property market. We are also investing in the accessibility and interoperability of our data to help support wider economic activity and innovation.

• Modernise our organisational culture and ways of working so that HM Land Registry remains a great place to work for our current and future workforce.

Our budget settlement from the 2021 Comprehensive Spending Review ensures we have the financial backing from HM Treasury to invest in our people and digital transformation. That investment means we are creating a long-term solution to the challenges created by a cyclical market, making our service provision more consistent and sustainable than it is today.

By March 2025, we will have automated most register update applications, refocused our expert caseworkers onto processing register create applications and begun the work necessary to improve the quality and accessibility of our geospatial data. What will not change over that time is the critical role we play in supporting the UK’s economic stability and growth. Our Business Plan will be updated annually to ensure we continue to maximise that potential.

1.2 HM Land Registry’s strategy in summary

Vision

A world-leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future.

Vision outcomes

1. Trust and confidence in property ownership is maintained at all times.

2. Outstanding, fully digital services for all our customers and property transactions are near-frictionless, more user-friendly and secure.

3. The property market is fully informed by digital information, driving better and quicker decisions.

4. Open and accessible register data is used more widely in support of a thriving economy and a sustainable future.

5. We co-create successful and lasting change in the property market through groundbreaking programmes like Digital Street.

Our purpose

We protect your land ownership and provide services and data that underpin an efficient and informed property market.

1.3 How we serve

Providing secure and efficient land registration

We will:

• improve our speed of service as a priority;
• automate and personalise our conveyancing services;
• invest in our expertise;
• increase resilience to fraud and cyber threats; and
• take the initiative in exploring mapping unregistered land to increase transparency.

Enabling property to be bought and sold digitally

We will:

• work with the property sector to make the process of buying and selling property digital;
• develop services that are fully digital and connect easily with other services in the property sector; and
• promote a secure and inclusive digital system of conveyancing.

Providing near real-time property information

We will:

• plan to complete automation of all information services;
• digitise the most useful register information;
• develop greater transparency and online access for people and businesses; and
• complete the instant-access Local Land Charges Register.

Providing accessible digital register data

We will:

• prioritise register digitisation to support a sustainable data-driven economy;
• make our data more findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable;
• continue to invest in our Geovation Accelerator Programme to find new data uses and users; and
• continue to help deliver the UK Geospatial Strategy.

Leading research and accelerating change with property market partners

We will:

• work in partnership with others in the sector to build a shared vision for the property market;
• co-create the property market research agenda to collaboratively change the current system; and
• build on the success of Digital Street to explore and take advantage of emerging technologies.

1.4 Our organisation

Our people

Our people are the foundation of all we have achieved and all we aspire to in the future. We will thrive through being agile and flexible, inclusive, innovative, always developing and continually improving. We want people to feel proud to work for HM Land Registry and fulfil their potential.

Environmental, social and governance

We will ensure our data and services support key environmental and social objectives, such as Net Zero and levelling up. We will be a Net Zero organisation by 2050 or sooner.

Data and systems

We will optimise our performance by investing in innovative, flexible, secure, data-driven systems and processes.

Our appetite for risk

We have a low appetite for risks that impact on the accuracy, availability and security of the register information we hold. We will take more risks in innovating services and releasing value from our data if it does not compromise the registers.

Fees and finances

We will continue to be cost-neutral to the UK taxpayer and will strive to be an exemplar of efficient public services.

1.5 Our values

We have integrity.

We drive innovation.

We are professional.

We give assurance.

2. Deliver an improved speed of service for our customers

This objective supports two key pillars of our Strategy, namely delivering secure and efficient land registration and enabling property to be bought and sold digitally. By March 2025, around 98% of our services will be automated (compared with around 90% today) enabling processing times to reduce to 15 days on average across both register update and register create applications (more detail on what you can expect can be found later in this document), and we will have eradicated the backlog.

Our approach to improving the speed of our services is two-fold. First, we need to automate as much of our work as we can do. Automation doesn’t just bring efficiency; it will increase our resilience to fluctuations in the property market – ensuring we don’t build up a backlog again. Critically, our digital transformation also serves as an enabler for a future where buyers and sellers, their banks, lawyers and others can join together to buy and sell property seamlessly and entirely digitally. This year is a big year for our digital transformation ambitions, we will switch over to the Digital Registration Service, put up to 70% of register update applications through our new casework system, and begin to roll out end-to-end automation with our customers.

Second, we need to ensure we have the right operating capacity and capability, not just to meet demand today, but to realise the benefits of automation. Preparing our workforce for the changes to come is no small endeavour, and we are already several years into this programme of transformation. The year 2022-23 marks a turning point. By the end of this year, you can expect our output to begin to outstrip demand. In future years, we will continue to invest in our people, but with a focus on building capability so more of our caseworkers are able to handle the most complex applications we receive today.

Over the next three years, we are investing 75% of our budget in improving the speed of service for our customers. By March 2025, this is what that investment will mean for the speed of our services.

Speed of our services (All speeds are expressed as median averages)	What you can expect by the end of this Business Plan
Information service requests	Immediate for over 90% of these requests; one to two days if a request requires manual intervention. Searches of the index map can take two to three days.
Register updates	One day for the majority of these applications; 13 days across all register updates.
Register creates * Developers and non-developers *First registrations	46 days for those dividing an existing registered title; 65 days for applications registering land for the first time.
Expedited applications	Ten days for more than 95% of these applications.
Local Land Charges	Instant for all applications.
Land Charges	Information services returned in one working day; applications actioned upon day of receipt.

2.1 We receive around 135,000 service requests every day

115,000 of service requests we received were for information - 90% of these are automated.

20,000 of these were applications to make a change to the register

18,000 applications were to amend the register (Register Updates) 29% of these applications are already automated. 70% of them will be automated at the end of this business plan

2,000 Creation of New Titles (Register Creates) – either by dividing up an existing piece of land or registering land for the first time. These will continue to be manually processed over the next few years

To deliver this, we will:

• digitally transform and automate register update applications. We are prioritising register update applications, which represent around 90% of our manually processed work today and therefore will have the most immediate impact on speed of services for our customers. We already have many of the pieces in place to enable end-to-end automation – this year will serve as a proof of concept for those efforts. With full support from our industry partners, in particular with trialling mechanisms for receiving legally assured information, we expect to automate up to 70% of register updates by March 2025 and to have begun digitally transforming register create applications (which are more complex on average and represent a smaller proportion of our manually processed casework – around 10%) by then as well.

• continue to invest in the delivery of our manual services. Our main focus will be on ensuring we have the right capacity and capability at the right time, including through training, diversifying our skills and ensuring our staff can be redeployed to more complex work as automation delivers.

• continue to support our customers directly with insight and expert, impartial knowledge. Our Customer Support services are resourced by trained caseworkers who support our customers every day through a variety of contact channels. These services and our wider operational delivery model will continue to evolve as a result of digital transformation to meet changing customer needs and will be prioritised within our budget over the coming years. We will enhance our suite of metrics to focus on First Contact Resolution to ensure we effectively measure and continually improve our customer experience over the next three years.

2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
We will improve the speed of our services until register updates are back with our customers in 13 days or less, 46 days for those dividing an existing registered title and 65 days for applications registering land for the first time by Q4 2024-25. [1], [2]
We will begin to automate register update applications by Q4 2022-23.[1], [2]	We will automate up to 60% of register update applications by Q4 2023-24.[1], [2]	We will automate up to 70% of register update applications by Q4 2024-25.[1], [2]

2.2 The four keys to automating land registration

There are four components that must be in place to enable end-to-end automation of land registration while retaining trust and confidence in register data:

• We must receive digital applications.
• We must have trust in the application information we receive.
• Our register data must be machine readable.
• Application processing must be automatable.

Our digital transformation has been designed to deliver in all four of these areas.

• Enabling business customers to lodge all application types through our Digital Registration Service (DRS) in the portal , or Business Gateway , will support the first of these, ensuring the data we receive from our customers is fully digital and complete. DRS will also improve the customer experience by guiding them through the application process more intuitively, improving the speed of our services by reducing errors in submitted applications and reminding conveyancers of the evidence we require to complete an application. DRS’ effectiveness was recognised when it won in the Delivering Excellent Customer Experience category in the 2022 Real IT Awards.

• This year we ran a pilot to test the concept of Legally Assured Information , which places accountability for assuring the accuracy of information provided within an application to update or change the register with the regulated legal professionals overseeing the transaction. Following the pilot, we will progress our work with industry over the course of this year.

• As we better understand the additional information required to improve application processing times, we will be enhancing the Digital Register to support this, improving the quality of data and investing in the infrastructure to enable machine learning, which will reduce application processing times, enhance our customers’ experience and provide new insights to inform organisational decisions.

• We began to roll out a new Application Processing system in 2019 and around 45% of applications to update the register are being channelled through this system. This is already delivering improved efficiencies in manual processing times, but critically it has put the components in place to ensure these cases can be automated once the other keys are delivered. Application Processing was also successful in the 2022 Real IT Awards, wining in the Operational Efficiency category.

2.3 Lay the foundations for our future role in a digital property market and maximise our impact on the wider economy

The business plan supports two key pillars of our Strategy – providing near real-time property information and providing accessible digital register data. Our focus and investment to support these pillars will increase as our digital transformation delivers an improved speed of service for our customers. Over the next three years, however, we are investing in laying the foundations for our future role in a digital property market and wider economy in the following ways.

• Delivering the Local Land Charges (LLC) Programme. LLC offers a proof of concept for how we can help drive increased transparency in the property market to support the economy, improving access to information across local authority boundaries, which can also assist with planning as well as improving community cohesion. So far, we have migrated data from 34 local authorities, and on-boarded delivery partners to speed up the pace of migration in the future. LLC represents some 50% of our overall transformation investment over the next three years and is a Government Major Project. An average search result is now on average £9 less than before - and the search time has been reduced on average by 9 days.

• Making our data more accessible and interoperable. We already publish 12 of the datasets we hold, and over the next three years we are committed to improving our datasets by making them more findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable as well as establishing the next wave of dataset publication that will derive the greatest value. Over this time, we will also invest in making the data more accessible and interoperable with other equivalent datasets released by government and industry alike. We continue to work closely with the Geospatial Commission to consider how best to support the wider economy through our data and will continue to explore opportunities for seedcorn investment into our data capabilities and activities. These will include a focus on the quality of register data, prototyping of methodologies for the digitisation of existing data sets, and increasing the economic value and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Integrable and Reusable) ness of our published data portfolio. The accessibility and transparency of our data can help others make more efficient and sustainable choices, providing a critical contribution to the Net Zero agenda.

• Working with partners across government to support levelling up. We are working closely with partners in the industry as well as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to identify opportunities to improve the homebuying and selling process, improve the ability of local communities to play an informed role in the development of their neighbourhoods and increase the use of our data by government and others in tackling complex social, environmental and economic challenges such as Net Zero and levelling up.

Application Processing

Application Processing is HM Land Registry’s new digital casework system, providing near term processing time savings through digital transformation while enabling future automaton of registration. The system was co-designed and tested extensively by caseworkers, ensuring the users were at the heart of its design, while counter-fraud features provide assurance for the integrity of the register.

Our people

• Simplifies processing, reducing time taken to process an application by around 30%
• Improved user experience through a modern digital system

Our customers

• Enables an improved speed of service

Our strategy

• Enables the automation of our services
• Enables digital conveyancing

2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
We will migrate the data held from at least 50 local authorities into the Local Land Charges Register by Q4 2022-23.[3]	We will migrate the data held from at least 65 local authorities into the Local Land Charges Register by Q4 2023-24.[3]	We will migrate the data held from at least 80 local authorities into the Local Land Charges Register by Q4 2024-25.[3]
		We will secure the appropriate tools and develop the technologies and capabilities needed to support organisational ambitions for geospatial data by Q4 2024-25.[4],[5]
		We will improve the ability to Find, Access, Integrate and Re-use (FAIR) our published datasets by Q4 2024-25.[4],[5]

2.4 Modernise our organisational culture and ways of working

Our organisation is in a period of significant change. Some of that change is not unique to our organisation and we are aligning our thinking to Civil Service Modernisation and Reform, including maximising the potential of new ways of working.

Other aspects of it are more unique to HM Land Registry as we fundamentally transform how we deliver our services and use our influence to improve how the property market works for our customers, the wider economy and society as a whole.

We will develop a new People Strategy to help maintain the high levels of engagement among our people and continue to attract talent in the future. There are also emerging areas of focus for our people, such as the increasing cyber security risk and contribution to wider government’s Net Zero agenda.

• Focusing on outcomes to support new ways of working. We will continue to provide coaching and data to ensure our people are able to make informed decisions about how and where to work. Our hybrid working principles empower our people and ensure they have accountability for meeting customer needs. Evidence to date supports the idea that individual efficiency levels benefit from undertaking different types of work in different environments. We are also committing to review our future Workplace Strategy this year, drawing together thinking on our new ways of working, workspace requirements and the estates solutions we will need in the future.

• Creating a workforce for the future. It is our ambition to be the most diverse and inclusive employer within the Civil Service. We will continue to encourage a culture in which leaders and managers think about inclusivity as much as productivity, ensuring we create a workforce that closely reflects wider society, modernises through data-led actions, and aligns with measures of cultural maturity. We develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country. To do this effectively, our people should represent modern England and Wales in all its diversity. Evidence shows that diversity − of background, of life experience − brings different insights, creates challenge and encourages change and innovation. Our people are our most valuable asset and everyone at HM Land Registry should feel they can be themselves at work, valued for the unique perspective they bring and able to go as far as their talents will take them. When people feel included, it is good for them, good for the services we offer and the customers we serve.

• Maintaining and evolving our high-quality learning offer. We will deploy coaching, leadership support, apprenticeship programmes and defined career paths, as well as developing and maintaining the Land Registration Academy to build and professionalise land registration knowledge and expertise across the organisation. We will embed government initiatives to build expert functions and professions with a focus on continuous improvement.

• Ensuring we are resilient to emerging cyber security threats. We will continue to deliver our ambitious Security Strategy, aligned to wider HM Government standards and the Cyber Assessment Framework. Working across the government security profession we will continually assess emerging threats, providing assurance of proportionate protection of our people, buildings, systems and information assets.

• Delivering our Net Zero ambitions. We will identify opportunities to contribute directly towards the Government’s Net Zero targets over the next three years. Investment choices around technology and our workspaces are already contributing directly to achieving Greening Government Commitments. In our buildings we have introduced sustainability measures such as LED (light-emitting diode) lighting and will install photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps in our offices. Over the coming year we will develop a sustainable procurement policy, consider our office footprint in the context of a Workplace Strategy, and support the sustainability ambitions of other organisations through making our data more accessible and interoperable.

Brilliant Teams, Inspiring Leaders

Brilliant Teams, Inspiring Leaders is a significant investment programme across Operations. Improving leadership and continuous improvement skills in our teams at all levels, our aim is to support our people to improve performance and engagement to deliver more for our customers.

Our people

• Builds leadership capability
• Empowers teams at all levels to be accountable and to problem solve
• Improves staff engagement

Our customers

• +12.3% applications returned to customers compared with same period last year Our strategy
• Enables an improved speed of service
• Develops our people in line with modernising our organisational culture and ways of working

Our strategy

• Enables an improved speed of service
• Develops our people in line with modernising our organisational culture and ways of working

2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
We will deliver the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, improving representation and creating an inclusive culture across HM Land Registry by Q4 2024-25.[1],[2]
We will maintain momentum towards cultural maturity, in order to achieve the objectives set out in our People Strategy by Q4 2024-25. [1],[2]
We will deliver a strategic workforce plan for 2025+ which identifies the requirements for the future capacity, capability and structure of our workforce by Q1 2023-24. [1],[2]
We will identify opportunities to contribute directly towards Government’s Net Zero targets by Q4 2024-25.[5]
We will develop a new Workplace Strategy, which covers our estate and considers our footprint by Q4 2022-23

[1] Providing secure and efficient land registration

[2] Enabling property to be bought and sold digitally

[3] Providing near real-time property information

[4] Providing accessible digital register data

[5] Leading research and accelerating change with property market partners

3. The impact of this plan

3.1 Our organisational performance

This Business Plan and the strategy it sits underneath is reinforced by our Performance Framework, which was introduced last year and designed in accordance with the principles laid out in the Public Value Framework. The key performance indicators (KPIs) within this framework are supported by a full ecosystem of performance data, which is reviewed on a continuous basis, thus ensuring our governance boards have the information they need to support outcome-focused decision-making, including early warning signs when performance is at risk.

The figures below illustrate the trajectories for each KPI based on the investment outlined in this document over the next three years.

3.2 KPI 1 – Customer trust in the integrity and accuracy of the registers

Question KPI seeks to answer

Do our customers trust the information held on the land registers?

Summary of measure

Quarterly survey conducted by Ipsos Mori that tracks the percentage of customers rating our ability to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the register as 8-10 (on a scale of 1 to 10).

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

Performance against this KPI is strong and has been broadly consistent over the years. This Business Plan concentrates on ensuring trust is not eroded or negatively impacted by automation or the migration of the Local Land Charges service. We expect the trajectory of this KPI to be broadly flat for the next three years.

3.3 KPI 2 – Customer satisfaction

Question KPI seeks to answer

Are we delivering a service that aligns with our customer needs?

Summary of measure

Quarterly survey conducted by Ipsos Mori which tracks the percentage of customers rating our overall service as 8-10 (on a scale of 1 to 10).

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

We have maintained satisfaction levels overall in recent years, but it varies for different users of our services and is considerably impacted by the speed of our services. This Business Plan will ensure there is a significant improvement in the speed of our services. We are forecasting a linear increase of satisfaction levels among customers submitting register change applications, returning to prepandemic levels of satisfaction by March 2025. The improvement in register updates should outweigh any dissatisfaction with register create applications in the short-term before speed of our services improves for all applications types by the end of the planning period

3.4 KPI 3– Staff engagement

Question KPI seeks to answer

How connected do our staff feel towards their work and our organisation?

Summary of measure

Staff engagement scores from the annual Civil Service People Survey and internal quarterly pulse surveys. Staff engagement is also monitored through a fortnightly wellbeing survey.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

Our People Survey results are among the best in the Civil Service and have shown considerable resilience and is reflective of the investment in our people over the past five years. The ambition is to maintain the high level of staff engagement we have seen over the last few years by managing and implementing change well. However, the lower end of the trajectory reflects areas of risk that could potentially see lower engagement scores in 2022/23 including the degree of change the organisation is facing.

3.5 KPI 4 – Cost of our services

Question KPI seeks to answer

How efficiently is our organisation being run?

Summary of measure

This is a cost to serve metric, which provides the total organisational costs of delivering individual ‘units’ or services to our customers. It considers total costs, including the investment in transformation as well as the costs directly associated with the delivery of our services.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

Our Spending Review settlement equates to a budget increase of £37.3m (of which £4.3m is Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit), reflective of HM Treasury’s support of our plans. The planned investment in our people and transformation will start to have an impact in 2022 through to 2024, bringing down the cost of our services.

3.6 KPI 5 – Risk to the integrity of the register

Question KPI seeks to answer

How are changes to the register impacting register integrity?

Summary of measure

This metric assesses the risks to the register arising from any errors in new register entries. It considers both the frequency of potential errors and their impact. Key areas of risk that are fundamental to the integrity of the register, described as error types, have been identified using a Failure Mode Effect Analysis approach which considers the impact of an error and the likelihood of it occurring, based on error frequency from 2021/22.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

The aim is to continue to reduce overall risk levels within the trajectory range. The aggregated risk posed by errors fundamental to the integrity of the register, as assessed at the end of 2021/22, is represented by the benchmark 1.

3.7 KPI 6 – Applications completed

Question KPI seeks to answer

Does HM Land Registry have the right capacity and capability to deliver its services in a timely manner?

Summary of measure

The percentage of applications completed against those received. Reported as year-to-date figure on a 12-month rolling basis to remove seasonality.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

The percentage of completed applications is projected to exceed those received early this financial year resulting in the eradication of the backlog by the end of the three years. A range of critical success factors are being monitored to drive performance against this KPI, including the benefits of digital transformation and automation, progress against capability plans and operational productivity

3.8 KPI 7A – Speed of our services

Question KPI seeks to answer

How long do applications spend in HM Land Registry (excluding time awaiting a customer response and other 3rd party action)?

Summary of measure

Time taken by HM Land Registry to process applications, excluding any time spent awaiting customer response and other 3rd party action. This KPI is expressed as the median working days across those applications to update or create new register entries.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

We will have automated most applications to amend the Land Register by the end of the three years, meaning the majority of applications will be returned to customers in less than 1 day. All applications will, on average, be returned to customers within 15 days of receipt. However, there will remain some variation across services with register updates projected to be returned to customers in 13 days or less, 46 days for those dividing an existing registered title and 65 days for applications registering land for the first time. It is worth noting that our critical services – those that are necessary to keep the property market moving, including expedited applications – will continue to be delivered within the current service standards (72 hours for Information Services requests and ten days for Expedites).

3.9 KPI 7B – Time taken to change the register

Question KPI seeks to answer

How long does it take for the register to accurately reflect ownership?

Summary of measure

This KPI focuses on the accuracy of the register as a complete data set. It measures the total time taken for 95% of updates to be reflected on the register, which includes the time an application spends with HM Land Registry (the focus of KPI 7A) plus any time the application is with a customer or 3rd party to provide more information, plus any time it may take for a case to go through tribunal. As this is a measure of the total time it takes for 95% of updates to go through, it is subject to fluctuation when particularly long tribunal cases reach resolution.

Past performance and KPI trajectory for 2022-25

Explanatory notes for trajectory

As per KPI 7A, performance is projected to improve significantly over the three years, reducing the length of time taken for the register to accurately reflect ownership.

4. Our risk profile

The Business Plan has been developed with a focus on both the outcomes HM Land Registry wants to deliver in the next three years, measured through our Performance Framework, as well as consideration of how plans and investments impact on our principal risks. Aligning the plan to our principal risks allows us to create a proportionate and effective internal control environment.

Successful delivery of our Business Plan supports the controls needed to address our principal risks and enable them to be brought within appetite, as illustrated in the table below. Effectively managing these risks helps improve decision-making within the organisation, increases the likelihood we will deliver the plan and makes best use of our resources.

Principal risk	What are we doing about it within this business planning period to bring the risk to target?
Not maintaining and protecting a fit for purpose register	1. Establishing robust assurance on the accuracy of Application Processing to ensure we are maintaining the integrity of the register.
Not focusing on our people and culture	1. Using the launch of our Strategy to establish a clear sense of purpose, making connections to ensure our staff are integral to its aims and objectives. 2. Continuing with Brilliant Teams, Inspiring Leaders sustainment activities, supporting our leaders in creating an inclusive workplace 3. Supporting our leaders, managers and staff in the delivery of good performance management conversations, using performance data as an integral part of individual performance management approaches. 4. Ensuring our modernised ways of working are focused on improving customer outcomes alongside good employee experience, while maintaining connections with teams and the organisation.
Performance of our technology and services does not meet the expectations of the organisation	1. Resolution of some key design challenges (channel strategy, identity and access management). 2. Robust change implement controls. 3. Improved recruitment frameworks. 4. Working with key suppliers to mitigate supply chain challenges.
Inability of HM Land Registry to deliver desired transformation outcomes	1. Clear alignment of design, delivery and change management with the Strategy and Business Plan objectives. 2. Actively prioritising of our capabilities and resources to deliver outcomes at speed, in line with evolving organisational needs.
Inability to influence or react to changing market	1. Engagement programmes that seek feedback from and provide options to market participants. 2. Clear, regular and collaborative communications with market participants.
Insufficient manual processing capability and capacity to deliver registration services to specified standards and eliminate historic backlogs in the medium term	1. Increasing productivity and reducing the demand for manual processing through increasing digital transformation and automation.
Inability to deliver Local Land Charges Programme	1. Establishing and testing the supply chain to support data migration services and local authority incumbent software services. 2. Ensuring a pipeline of ready, willing and able local authorities work is in place to meet the three-year migration ambition.
HM Land Registry data and services being temporarily or permanently disrupted by cyber activity	1. Ensuring all elements of our security and resilience are tested and assessed against an objective framework such as the Cyber Assessment Framework to ensure the new controls we put in place in addition to our existing ones are systematic and comprehensive. 2. Using threat intelligence and information sharing with similar bodies to ensure best practice in security resilience.
Ineffective medium to long-term planning of the capabilities and capacity needed to deliver our Business Strategy	1. Using the strategic objectives from the Business Strategy to frame our future capacity and capability requirements. 2. Understanding how the delivery of our transformation portfolio affects our workforce requirements. 3. Agreeing intake forecast assumptions (the demand for the workforce) and workforce forecasting (the supply of the workforce). 4. Developing a strategic workforce plan, which is updated annually 5. Developing and deliver resourcing plans to meet gaps identified through the strategic workforce plan.

5. Our finances 2022-25

In the Spending Review (SR21) we secured a three-year funding envelope for Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) cash and Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) as follows:

	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
RDEL cash	£391.2m	£389.2m	£383.7m
CDEL*	£59.9m	£60.2m	£59.1m

*excludes adjustments relating to early adoption of IFRS16

6. Our finances 2022-23

We secured a funding envelope of £391.2m Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) cash and £58.9m Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) from HM Treasury for 2022-23.

Although a budget has been set that is in line with the HM Treasury fund envelope, we have ensured we can invest flexibly and efficiently in-year through:

• setting aside a central reserve (£2m) in our budget to ensure we are able to invest adequately in emerging strategic priorities.
• identifying a pipeline of areas where significant further investment in both casework processing and transformation activities are possible.

We undertake annual detailed budget setting processes alongside longer-term financial planning to ensure we prioritise our plans effectively while staying within our HM Treasury set control totals. These budgets are monitored, managed and reviewed on a monthly basis.

Below is a more detailed breakdown of our planned expenditure in 2022-23.

	RDEL cash Delegated budget (£m)
Staff costs (excluding overtime)	277.1
Overtime	17.2
Sub-total: staff costs	294.3
Agency staff costs	1.1
Other staff/personnel costs	2.3
Staff training	1.7
Travel and subsistence	1.6
Office running costs (such as rates, utilities)	11.7
Property maintenance	5.7
IT (such as maintenance contracts, licenses)	23.2
Other operating costs (such as postage, independent adjudicator)	8.3
Indemnity	6.9
Reprographic costs	2.7
File store costs	4.2
Survey and mapping	3.4
Professional services and consultancy	2.1
Sub total: non staff costs	74.9
Local Land Charges (all)	16.4
Transformation portfolio (non staff)	16.6
Capitalised staff costs	(12.0)
Non staff recharges	(1.0)
Central reserve	1.9
Total	391.2

	CDEL cash Delegated budget (£m)
IT equipment refresh	4.4
Transformation portfolio	23.6
Local Land Charges	30.9
Total	30.9

7. Conclusion

The next three years are pivotal for our organisation. We will continue to deliver our statutory obligations over this time, but how we do that will change quite significantly. Our digital transformation as well as the migration of the Local Land Charges Register will take our service provision from 90% automated today up to almost 98% in the next three years. This plan commits us to eradicating the backlog of applications we hold today, significantly improving the speed of our services, and laying the foundations for the next stage of our Strategy. Critically, alongside this we are committed to continuing to invest in our people to ensure HM Land Registry remains a great place work.

Our Business Plan will be updated on an annual basis, to reflect our latest views on how best to spend the budget allocated to us through the Spending Review 2021 settlement. Each annual review will also offer us an opportunity to reflect on the level of ambition within our plans, and course correct where we see opportunities to progress transformation quicker or differently.

8. Glossary

Agile	A method of project management that uses collaborative efforts to evolve solutions which achieve its goals.
Application	Applying for the registration of unregistered land, updating registered land or property titles, or applying for information from HM Land Registry.
Application Programming Interface (API)	Enable companies to open up their applications’ data and functionality to external third-party developers, business partners and internal departments within their companies.
Business Gateway	The Business Gateway API allows customers to seamlessly access our services from within their case management systems and automate repetitive processes using XML over the internet.
Customers	Individuals and businesses who use our services, including conveyancers, financial institutions, intermediaries, property businesses, land and property owners and data users.
Cyber security	The application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber-attacks.
Dataset	A collection of related sets of information that is composed of separate elements but can be manipulated as a unit by a computer.
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities	The ministerial department responsible for supporting communities across the UK to thrive, making them great places to live and work.
Digitisation	The process of converting information into a digital (computer-readable) format.
Digital Street	An existing research and development approach, collaborating with a strong community of innovation leaders, entrepreneurs and creative disruptors to push the boundaries of property market expectations.
Digital transformation	The adoption of digital technology by a company. Common goals for its implementation are to improve efficiency, value or innovation.
Digital Registration Service	An HM Land Registry portal service allowing applications to be submitted digitally where the data is automatically checked before it is lodged.
FAIR	Findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data.
First registration	The requirement to register unregistered freehold and leasehold estates in land.
Geospatial Commission	An expert committee, sponsored by the Cabinet Office, that sets the UK’s geospatial strategy and promotes the best use of geospatial data.
Geospatial data	Data and information associated with a particular location or place.
Geovation Accelerator Programme	A scheme supported by HM Land Registry and Ordnance Survey providing grant funding, access to data, geospatial expertise and property insight to location-data and PropTech start-ups.
Greening Government Commitments	The actions UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment in the period 2021 to 2025.
Inclusivity	The practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalised.
Information service requests	Requests for information that will affect individual market transactions.
Land Charges	Interests in unregistered land that are capable of being protected by entry in the Land Charges Register.
Land Register	Records the ownership of land and property in England and Wales.
Land Registration Academy	The staff training centre of excellence at HM Land Registry.
Local Land Charges (LLC) Register	A statutory register that contains local authority information about the use and enjoyment of properties. It includes things such as listed building status, tree preservation orders and other environmental protections.
Machine learning	The study of computer algorithms that can improve automatically through experience and by the use of data.
Machine readable	Data structured and coded in such a way that it ca be processed by a computer.
Net Zero	Achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Register change	Applications to change the register
Title	The evidence of a person’s right to property.