Many constituents have written to me with concerns about the Government's plans to privatise the Land Registry.
As long as the right protections are put in place, including keeping the statutory register under government ownership, there is no obvious reason why all of the Land Registry's functions should be carried out within the public sector. Indeed, the Land Registry could have more freedom in the private sector to continue to evolve into a high performing, innovative business, delivering for customers and the wider market in a 21st century, digital economy.
To understand the arguments on both sides better, the Government has been consulting on the future of land registration operation and will analyse this feedback in due course. Although the Government has set out a proposed model, no final decisions have been made. As such, we cannot pre-judge what any final model will look like.
Under all proposals that are currently being considered, the Land Registers for England and Wales would remain under Crown ownership to ensure the integrity of the register is maintained. In addition the Government is considering a range of safeguards to protect land registry customers and the wider economy if there were to be a privatisation, such as data protection, disputes handling, and fee setting.