Registers of Scotland (RoS) is delighted that Tom Meade, our Digital Director, has been recognised as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the year at the UK IT Industry Awards in London.

The awards focus on the contribution of individuals, projects, organisations and technologies that have excelled in the use, development and deployment of IT in the past 12 months. They are awarded by Computing and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

Tom received the award for his work in driving forward RoS’ digital transformation process since joining us in September 2014. He has been instrumental in delivering a far-reaching digital transformation throughout the organisation.

Not only has Tom introduced innovative digital thinking while leading the way in changing how we think of ourselves as an organisation, and how we deliver land and property services for Scotland. Just last month, RoS launched ScotLIS – an online, map-based land information service, which allows citizens, communities, professionals and business will be able to access comprehensive information about any piece of land or property in Scotland.

Agile working practices, a digital-first approach and improved customer engagement are just some of the practices that have been driven by Tom. His initiative to move RoS to open source systems has saved RoS £750,000 in licensing fees, and £1.5 million on outsourced support contracts. These more effective systems have delivered an additional £1.5 million saving in lost operation time. Thanks to Tom’s digital ‘big picture’, these efficiencies look set to grow over the coming year, thanks to new online services, digital case and document management systems, and improved digital products like APIs.

Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, Sheenagh Adams said of the award:
“I am delighted to congratulate Tom on his success. His contribution to our digital transformation has been pivotal. In just a short time, his vision for RoS has changed how we think across the organisation.

“It has been a pleasure to watch as he has improved our capability, brought a previously unknown confidence in digital delivery to our working practices, and improved services to deliver real improvements for our customers, savings for our organisation, and a better working environment for our hard working staff.

“His work is paving the way for RoS’ future, as we continue on modernise, innovate and take bold steps towards becoming a fully digital business by 2020.”

For further information please contact communications@ros.gov.uk or call Jacq Kelly on 07825 388 120.

New Year’s Day 2018 will herald a significant move forward in the journey towards fully digital registration services.

Draft regulations laid before parliament by Scottish Ministers yesterday mean that, by the year 2020, most property transactions will be processed digitally. Paper-based processes are to be phased out in a move that will provide Registers of Scotland’s customers – and the wider Scottish economy – with the best possible registration services.

The draft regulations are designed to facilitate new digital services – another important step in RoS’ digital transformation journey. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the new regulations will come into force on 1 January 2018.

Commenting on the progress that lies ahead, The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, Sheenagh Adams, said:
“These regulations give effect to the proposals set out in the consultation “Digital Transformation: Next Steps” which set out detailed proposals for changes to the Land Register Rules to facilitate the introduction of new digital registration services – including a fully digital transfer of title service.

“The reaction to our proposals was very positive. Our customers and stakeholders expressed strong support for the new digital services that we are developing, and our proposals to simplify and streamline the existing paper application form. By 2020 the vast majority of deeds will be submitted and processed digitally – providing our customers and the wider Scottish economy with the best possible registration services.”

RoS is committed to becoming a fully digital business by 2020. Our new Digital Discharge Service (DDS) has already proved very popular with solicitors and lenders and has greatly reduced the processing time for dealing with applications for discharges.

These new regulations are the next step in the roll out of a much wider range of digital services, including a fully digital approach to Advance Notices over part as well as whole and a new Digital Transfer of Title Service.

The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, Sheenagh Adams, has launched a new land information service this morning.

ScotLIS, a lynchpin of Registers of Scotland’s (RoS) digital transformation, is an easy to use, map-based, online land information service. For the first time, citizens, communities, professionals and business will be able to access comprehensive information about any piece of land or property in Scotland.

Beginning by sharing RoS’ own data in a user friendly way, ScotLIS will eventually combine with other public sector and government data sets to offer both a useful and unique view of Scotland.

Commenting on the launch, Sheenagh Adams said:

“Our ambition is for ScotLIS to become the platform of choice for land and property information in Scotland. ScotLIS is an enormous achievement, which we will further develop in the coming year, and it reflects our endeavour to be as innovative as possible in the way that we deliver our services.

She added: “I am looking forward to seeing how citizens use this service; be it resolving boundary disputes or gaining clarity on land ownership across our communities, there are countless opportunities to empower the people of Scotland through the value of the data offered by Registers of Scotland. “

Professor Stewart Brymer, who sat on the task force that oversaw the development of ScotLIS, added:

“In 2015, the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, accepted a recommendation from a task force chaired by the Keeper that ScotLIS should be developed and made available to the people of Scotland by October 2017. I am delighted to join the keeper today to be part of the launch of this service and look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months. ScotLIS is an important step for Scotland’s digital first strategy as well as playing a key role in land reform.

“ScotLIS will be a national asset for everyone. Not only will professionals benefit but the general public will too. For the first time everyone in Scotland will have access to map-based property information through a single portal. ScotLIS reflects our ambition to make the information that belongs to the people of Scotland as accessible as possible.”

With Friday 13th October looming, analysts at Registers of Scotland (RoS) took a peek at our records to see whether this noteworthy date affects people’s property buying habits.

It seems that there may be a degree of superstition when it comes to moving house on Friday 13th.

Figures show that, on the last Friday the 13th (in January 2017), 524 properties changed hands, but that on the equivalent Friday on 2016 (15th) more than twice as many (1,321) residential properties changed hands.

The last Friday the 13th before that was May 2016. Only 530 residential properties changed hands compared with 1,076 on the equivalent Friday 2017 (12 May 2016). On the Friday before (6 May 2016) 972 properties changed hands, with 1,110 house moves taking place on Friday, 20 May 2016.

Commenting on the data, RoS’ Operations Director and Accountable Officer, Janet Egdell, said:

“We can’t definitively say that people are superstitious about moving house on Friday 13th. However, our data does indicate that, while people overwhelmingly prefer to move house on a Friday compared with any other day in the week, there is a significant drop in the number of people doing so where this lands on the 13th day in the month.

“Data collected over a longer period of time shows that, from 1 April 2003 to 31 August 2017, an average of 1,163 people moved house on Fridays, with the exception of Fridays that happened to be the 13th day in the month, when only half as many (519 on average) house moves took place.

“It looks as though Friday 13th is a less popular Friday to move than the others in the year. We look forward to seeing over the next few weeks whether this trend continued in the month of Halloween.”

Four keepers celebrated 400 years of land registration in Scotland as a specially commissioned poem by Scotland’s Makar, Jackie Kay, was read to the public for the first time today.

The poem celebrates the 400th anniversary of the General Register of Sasines, the world’s oldest national land register. The sasine register is the responsibility of the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland.

The current Keeper of the Registers, Sheenagh Adams, was joined by three previous keepers at the event which also saw a new artwork, specially commissioned to mark the anniversary, dedicated to the public.

The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown, will attend the official opening of Registers of Scotland’s new offices at Saint Vincent’s Plaza in Glasgow tomorrow as part of the ongoing celebrations.

The keeper, Sheenagh Adams, said:

“We are proud of the work that we do to maintain the oldest national land register in the world for the people of Scotland. We have 400 years of learning and expertise and are consolidating that with modern practices that serve the needs not only of our customers, but of our stakeholders, partners and employees.

“It is fitting that I was joined by three previous keepers today, all of whom have played an important role in RoS’ history, as well as the Cabinet Secretary, Keith Brown, who will officially open our new offices in Glasgow. It is an honour to be able to mark the occasion with this specially commissioned art work and poetry, and we are grateful to everyone involved. It is a delight to be able to bring together so many of our partners in celebration of our 400 year anniversary.”

Text of poem

SASINE
Jackie Kay

Then my auld freend, as the furst sign
Let’s haund ower a clod o’ earth
And ken that ye and I will keep our wurd
Over time’s lang in-between.

Ye came tae life in a dwam, a dream,
A name here shows whaur you’ve been, lang syne.
To measure time, your deeds, this record –
Seizer! The auldest o’ the wurld.

Auld Caledonia: front runner, streaks ahead;
So far that you kin turn and look back;
The slow, timeless stare o’ the stag,
A heap o’ stones, a sma’ time-lag.

Plot, bothy, shack, croft, lease.
A writ stamped, counterpart, peace.
This land register – across these four centuries:
Fast furward, back; here’s your old stories.