LR News No. 30

A Message from the Land Registrar

This is the first issue of Land Registry News since I assumed the post of Land Registrar on 24 August 2009. I have found a fascinating task in taking up the appointment.

In just a few months here, I have been highly impressed by colleagues' commitment and dedication to serving the community and delivering quality customer services. I am delighted that their efforts have been recognised with the award of the 1st Runner-up of the Service Enhancement Award of the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2009 and the Public Organisation Award of The Ombudsman's Award 2009 which I have the honour of representing the Department to receive in September and November 2009. At the same time, we are making steady progress in the preparation of the Land Titles (Amendment) Bill and in various fronts of activities and service improvements:

· The enhanced version of e-Memorial Form released in July 2009 has been well received by the legal community. Focus group meetings with users were held with a view to further enhancing its functionality and user-friendliness;

· The introduction of a revamped Interactive Voice Response System of our Customer Service Hotline (3105 0000) in August 2009 with increased telephone lines has improved the flow of customers' calls;

· The contract for the New Search System was awarded in September 2009. We expect to roll out the system in mid 2010 which would extend the online search hours from the present 16 hours to 20 hours daily;

· The number of IRIS Online Services subscribers has risen to approaching 800 by end December 2009; and

· We have made further reports to the Joint Subcommittee of Legislative Council on Amendments to Land Titles Ordinance and are working closely with the law draftsman and stakeholders on the Land Titles (Amendment) Bill.

None of this could have been achieved without the dedication and hard work of everyone working in the Registry and the valuable support and feedback of our customers and work partners. We will therefore continue to place importance on training and development to equip our staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the changing service demands and maintain close communication with our customers. In the years to come, we shall continue to strive to perform towards our vision of "To be the best in all that we do" and to rise to the challenges posed by the ever-changing business environment and needs of customers.

We will soon be welcoming the year of the Tiger. On behalf of all my colleagues in the Land Registry, I wish you all prosperity and happiness in the new year.

Olivia NIP, J.P.. The Land Registrar & General Manager The Land Registry Trading Fund, Hong Kong

Update :

a. IRIS Enhancement

To improve service to customers, enhancements are being applied to IRIS from time to time. Examples include:

- Since June 2009, the maximum number of orders per transaction for non-subscriber users has been increased from 5 to 30;

- In October 2009, a backup payment gateway was implemented to address the malfunction incidents of the existing payment gateway that occur every now and then. Activation of the backup payment gateway to replace the existing payment gateway in handling payment by credit cards only takes about 15 minutes.

b. E-Memorial Form

The e-Memorial Form (Enhanced Version) has been well received by the legal community since launch. Major conveyancing solicitors have switched to the electronic form for preparing memorials of instruments. The usage is increasing towards half of the total memorials lodged for registration.

To tap feedback from hands-on users, we organised two focus group meetings with representatives from solicitors firms in mid-October 2009. The user-friendly functions of the enhanced form, in particular, the various selection lists and auto-generation of supplementary sheets, have obtained positive comments. The discussions also came up with some innovative ideas of new features such as bulk input and auto filling up of memorial particulars. The feasibility of the suggestions is being studied with a view to introducing enhancements which will further improve user convenience.

To use this cost saving and convenient alternative to the conventional pre-printed form, lodging parties are invited to download the e-Memorial Form through the homepages of the Hong Kong Law Society - Related Links (http://www.hklawsoc.org.hk) and the Land Registry (http://www.landreg.gov.hk).

c. Land Titles Ordinance

Preparatory work on the Land Titles (Amendment) Bill has continued.

The Administration has made further reports to the Joint Subcommittee on Amendments to Land Titles Ordinance set up by the Legislative Council on various issues relating to the amendment bill including the implied covenants for title and the power of the Land Registrar to register a caution against conversion to deal with known cases of indeterminate ownership.

The revised working draft of the amendment bill prepared by the Law Draftsman has been reviewed. The Land Registry aims to complete all drafting instructions as early as possible and will consult the stakeholders before it is put to the Legislative Council for enactment.

d. Revamp of Interactive Voice Response System

As our on-going efforts to enhance customer services, we have revamped the IVRS of our customer service hotline (3105 0000). Taking into account valuable suggestions from customers, the new system came into operation on 28 August 2009 with the following improvements.

(a) Increased the number of service telephone lines from 12 to 24.

(b) Improved the call flow by moving popular options forward in the menu.

(c) Advanced the "talk to operator" selection in the call flow. The connection time to operator was reduced from an average of 6 seconds to around 1 second.

In addition, we have taken heed of customers' suggestion and add an enhanced feature to further strengthen the system - to disallow fax requests from callers without caller-IDs displayed since mid October. We would continue monitoring the customers' views and take measures to make further improvements.

Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2009

Our commitment in delivering high quality and value services has once again been recognised. The Land Registry has been honoured with the award of the First Runner-up of the Service Enhancement Award (Small Department category) in the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2009 organised by the Civil Service Bureau.
The objectives of the award scheme were to promote a culture of quality service and people-based approach in the civil service, to recognise the efforts and achievements of departments in the pursuit of service excellence and to motivate departments and their staff to pursue continuous improvement in the delivery of public service. The award scheme had attracted over 141 entries from 51 departments for the Service Enhancement Award, Best Performance Pledges Award, Best Public Image Award and Partnership Award.

The participating departments went through various stages of rigorous assessment. Departments were assessed on the strategy and objectives for enhancement of service quality, measures leading to better public services and the achievements, means to sustain a culture of continuous service improvement and the work done on boosting the department's image. The finalists were judged by an adjudication panel comprising Legislative and District Councillors, representatives from professional bodies, members of staff side councils and senior directorates of Civil Service Bureau. The Award Presentation Ceremony was held on 29 September 2009. To promote the commendable efforts of the civil service, Civil Service Bureau has arranged to present the success stories of the winning departments in a number of TV programmes. The episode about the Land Registry was broadcast on 29 November 2009.

The Ombudsman's Awards 2009

The Land Registry has been presented The Ombudsman's Awards 2009 - Public Organisation Award at the Award Presentation Ceremony held on 26 November 2009. The Ombudsman's Awards aim to recognise public sector organisations' positive and supportive stance towards the Ombudsman's investigations of complaints to bring about improvement in the quality of service and promote fairness in public administration. This is the first time the Land Registry received the Award which is an affirmation of the endeavours we have been making in caring for the needs of our clients both in the process of service provision and in handling complaints. The Award also gives us great impetus and incentive to further excel in our work and to materialise our vision, that is, "To be the best in all that we do".

New Search System

After an open tender exercise, the contract for the acquisition of equipment and related services for the implementation of the New Search System (NSS) was awarded in September 2009. Development of NSS is under way and we expect to roll out the new system in mid-2010. When that happens, existing search functions of the IRIS will be migrated to the NSS.

The NSS is being developed with technical features to ensure that search services to customers are delivered in a stable manner and are unaffected by scheduled maintenance and/or upgrading work on internal registration systems. Service hours of the NSS will also be extended from the current 16 hours a day under IRIS to 20 hours a day. In the longer term and having regard to experience in operating the NSS, the Land Registry will explore possible means of further extending the service hours.

To facilitate the development work of the NSS, a new sub-office of the Land Registry has been opened in Kwun Tong since August 2009 to house all parties participating in the development work under the same roof. This will enhance communication and coordination among all parties involved to ensure the smooth and successful completion of the development of the NSS.

Reduction in Application Fee and Minimum Deposit for IRIS Online Services Subscriber Accounts

To further promote e-service and attract more customers to join the subscribers' scheme, the one-off application fee for opening an Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) Online Services Subscriber Account has been reduced from $2,000 to $1,000 with effect from 1 October 2009. The minimum deposit for settlement of fees for search and copying services acquired through a subscriber account has also been reduced from $1,000 to $500 or an amount equivalent to two months' estimated transaction volume of the said account, whichever is the higher. Existing subscribers with low transaction volume may apply for a reduction in the deposit with the Land Registry, if applicable.

Enriching the Computer Database with Chinese Street Names to Enable Land Search by Chinese Address

When IRIS was implemented in 2005, it inherited a database containing only street names information in English. The absence of corresponding data in Chinese might cause inconvenience to some searchers if he only had the Chinese street name of the property concerned. To tackle the issue, the database has been gradually updated with the Chinese street names since the launch of IRIS.

To further increase user convenience, we have completed a comprehensive exercise of enriching the computer database of IRIS with a full set of Chinese street names in one go. The enhancement covered a total of about 4,000 streets in LR's records, except a few requiring further investigation by relevant government departments.

Searchers can now enjoy the convenience in using Chinese address information for searching land registers more readily.

Meet the Clients Session

Annual Validation of Customer Data

To ensure a good customer management system in the Land Registry to facilitate close communication with customers, the first essential step is for us to maintain the most up-to-date customer records. Since last year, subscribers of IRIS Online Services and Sale of Memorial Day Book / Monthly Memorial Information on Mortgage Transactions and customers of Deeds Lodgement Services would receive our annual invitation to provide up-to-date customer data via a Customer Data Form for our validation and updating of our customer database. Invitations were sent in late September last year and validation and updating of customer data of the received responses was completed in end October. Customers may also access our website (http://www.landreg.gov.hk) to download the Change of Account Particulars Form for use if they need to update their record any time.

Land Registry Best Frontline Staff Award

To foster a culture of good customer service, the Land Registry launched its Best Frontline Staff Award in April 2007. The objective of the award is to recognise quality performance and achievements of staff in customer service and to motivate staff in putting our value into practice: always seeking excellence in service and performance.
The Deeds Lodgement Unit and Miss YAN Yee-mei, Gloria, ACO/Document Processing Section won the Team Award and the Individual Award respectively for the three quarters of January - March, April - June and July - September 2009. In fact,they have set a record of winning the respective awards for four consecutive quarters since October - December 2008.

Best Staff of the Year Scheme

The Land Registry Best Staff Award Scheme is an annual event which aims to motivate staff morale, promote work commitment and give recognition to deserving staff for their remarkable contributions to the department. Under the scheme, all staff can elect among themselves the winners they consider most deserving. The award scheme for 2009 was held in November. We sincerely congratulate Mr. TSUI Dor-hin (Reports-on-Title & Owners Incorporation Section), Mr. CHEUNG Tak-chung (Registration Section A) and Mr. FOK Ka-lung (Office Administration Section) for winning this "Best Staff Award 2009". The winners honourably received their awards, presented by the Land Registrar, at the department's Christmas party held on 17 December 2009.

Customer Service Survey 2009/10

In order to gauge customers' views for continuous service improvement, it has been the practice of the Land Registry to conduct a comprehensive customer service survey every other year. In 2008/09, the Land Registry has also completed a comprehensive customer service survey and has followed up the comments and suggestions for improvement. To ensure customers' views on our services are constantly collected and followed up during the interim, we are planning for an in-house mid-term customer service survey in 2009/10.

The survey will be conducted in the first quarter of 2010 in the form of questionnaire to all segments of customers including IRIS Online Services subscribers, government departments, solicitors' firms and customers using our counter services at the Customer Centre/New Territories Search Offices. Your support and participation in the survey is invited. More details of the survey will be posted on our website (http://www.landreg.gov.hk) soon.

Land Registry Open Day

The Land Registry will organise an Open Day event for its customers as well as members of the public. A series of guided tours to Customer Centre, Central Imaging Centre and Land Registry Archive will be arranged in March 2010. Through the tours, you can see how we are providing secure and customer-friendly land registration and information services for the assurance of property right and the benefit of the economy and the transformation of the Land Registry over the years in striving for continuous service improvement. Further details of the event will be announced shortly.

The Land Registry Trading Fund Annual Report 2008/09

The Land Registry released its Annual Report for 2008/09 in October 2009. The report gives a detailed account of the various activities and achievements of the Land Registry over the past year, including service improvements and progress for the introduction of title registration. It also contains an audited financial statement with full account of the financial position of the Land Registry Trading Fund. The full report can be viewed or downloaded from the Land Registry's website (http://www.landreg.gov.hk). We welcome your comments and feedback. Please complete the online survey questionnaire on our website or provide your comments by email to us at csa@landreg.gov.hk.

Annual Staff Development Theme Training

To enhance team spirit and equip our staff with the necessary skills towards a successful team, the Land Registry selected "Aligned in One Goal, Ahead We All Go" as the Staff Development Theme Training for 2009/10. The training aimed at enhancing staff's understanding of the importance of the synergy of teams in achieving the organisational objectives. Over 500 members of staff participated in 18 one-day experiential workshops held between October and December 2009 at the Shatin Breakthrough Youth Village. Each workshop was opened by the Registry Manager whose encouraging and inspiring remarks boosted up the learning atmosphere. With the active participation of all, staff benefited from the workshops while having an enjoyable learning time.

Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Sunnyway Programme

To promote the responsibilities of corporate citizenship, the Land Registry continues to participate in Labour Department's Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Social Welfare Department's Sunnyway Programme to offer training placements for people in need.The Youth Pre-employment Training Programme provides pre-employment and on-the-job training opportunities for young people aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree or below level. The Sunnyway Programme gives training opportunities in a real work environment for young people with disabilities or early signs of mental illness with a view to enhancing their employability. This was the second time the Land Registry participated in the programmes. We received one trainee for the period from August to September 2009 under the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme. We also provided training placement for one trainee from September to November 2009 under the Sunnyway Programme. In these two programmes, colleagues from the same offices of the trainees were assigned as mentors to render them appropriate guidance and training. Both our colleagues and trainees valued the programmes and benefited from the training.

Controlling Officer's Environmental Report 2008

The Land Registry's Controlling Officer's Environmental Report 2008 was released in July 2009. It states our environmental policy and objectives, sets out the measures we take to minimise the impacts of our operations on the environment and reports our environmental performance attained in 2008 as well as our environmental targets set for 2009. This Environmental Report is available at our websites, http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/public/control.htm (for English version) and http://www.landreg.gov.hk/tc/public/control.htm (for Chinese version). You are most welcome to browse it and provide your comments on our work.