BUILT ENVIRONMENT


From the ground up


Pioneering 400 years ago, Registers of Scotland continues to be so today


BY KENNY CRAWFORD


As home of the world’s oldest national land register – the Gen- eral Register of Sasine – Scotland can be proud of the pioneering work that was done here to pro- tect the citizen and secure their rights over their land more than 400 years ago. Back in the day, land transac-


tions took a literal form; it would be marked symbolically by hand- ing over a clump of ground or a stone – backed up, or course, by legal protections. Our methods of transacting have altered radically, but the protections for the citizens lie at the core of our work. While we are proud of that rich history at Registers of Scotland (RoS), we are ensuring that we honour it in the best way possible – by continuing to evolve and innovate, striving for the best possible land and property registration services for the people of Scotland and the wider Scottish economy. RoS is in the midst of an ongo-


ing digital transformation, with the intention of progressing from being a historically paper (or soil!) based organisation, to one that does everything digitally as its preferred option. Key outcomes will be the


automation of services to boost efficiency and quality, while at the same time reducing risk. Cru- cially, we are developing all of this


Digital innovation is embedded at RoS. Picture Maria Agudo López


with the customer at the heart of service and product design. Digital innovation is embedded


in the work that we are doing at Registers of Scotland, and we are proud to be playing our part in the delivery of the Scottish Gov- ernment’s digital strategy, which sets out steps for ensuring that Scotland is a vibrant, inclusive, open and outward looking digital nation. At the heart of that is the


principle that the digital approach must be fit for purpose and deliver excellent public services that are what customers want and need. Our land and property infor-


mation service – ScotLIS – and our Digital Discharge Service, which is primarily used for removing repaid mortgages from title sheets, were both developed with stakeholders involved at every stage. Te result is two first-rate digital services that have been positively received. ScotLIS, our online land and


information system allows citizens, communities, profes- sionals and business users to find out comprehensive informa- tion about any piece of land or


property in Scotland with a single online enquiry. Additional layers and functions are being added to ScotLIS every week, based on consultation and testing with the customers to ensure that they are fit for purpose.


Then there’s our digital discharge service, DDS, that enables the discharge of mortgage securities. Tanks to DDS, we’ve transi- tioned from a paper process that could take weeks to travel be- tween the lender the solicitor and ourselves before the application was processed, to a fully digital replacement in which the cus- tomer journey for both solicitors and lenders can be completed in minutes. Te digital services that we’re


developing ensure that no area of Scotland finds it harder to access services than any other area. Using digital means that whether businesses are in rural areas or in urban areas, they can access the same services, at the same speed, with the same results. Our approach was wel-


comed by the Minister of Digital Economy and Public Finance, Kate Forbes, when she visited


our HQ towards the end of last year. She noted the progress that we are making on delivering our digital agenda, and stressed the importance of ensuring that the end-user is at the heart of the development of digital services and that “we don’t use technol- ogy for its own sake but we use technology to improve the lives, ultimately, of those who are using our services.” We couldn’t agree more. Tat’s


why services like ScotLIS and DDS were developed with cus- tomers and stakeholders involved at every stage, and we are mindful of the fact that different commu- nities may have different require- ments, and we strive to support their needs. If you are interested in Scottish


land and property data you can find a range of our free data and statistics such as our House Price statistics and House Price Index on www.ros.gov.uk. l


Kenny Crawford is Business Development Director at Registers of Scotland


You can view ScotLIS at www. scotlis.ros.gov.uk.


FUTURESCOT | SPRING 2019 | 25


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