The year under review began with the department still working hard to settle down the Central Registration and the Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) services launched in February 2005 and to get to grips with the action needed to follow up the enactment of the Land Titles Ordinance in 2004. It ended with the new system operating smoothly and with substantial progress made on preparation for title registration. Much remains to be done on title registration, however, including taking an amendment bill as well as subsidiary legislation through the Legislative Council. While customer satisfaction in many areas is at record levels, there remains much to be done to improve satisfaction with our electronic services. Another busy year lies ahead, whatever the property market may have in store for us.
The Business Environment
For the second straight year we saw an increase in total revenue, but that increase was only 3% compared with over 20% in the previous year. Moreover, revenue in the second half of the year was significantly less than in the first half as property market activity was affected by higher interest rates.
Expenditure also increased for the second year in a row, but by nearly 5% compared with less than 1% in 2004/05. While in part this is because the depreciation for our investment in IRIS is now on the books, the other significant factor is the staff resources we are now having to put into preparation for title registration. Nearly 10% of the total strength of the department is now engaged in preparation for title registration. For managerial and professional staff the proportion working on title registration is even higher, at over 25%. Over the coming several years we will need to increase the number of staff working on title registration even further, while at the same time maintaining the full extent of our deeds registration services. Achieving greater efficiency improvements with existing services is an important objective for the department. This will allow us to free up the resources needed for title registration and contain pressure for fee increases if revenues weaken.
Central Registration and IRIS
Over the first full year of operation the new registry structure, supported by IRIS, has proved itself in practice. Productivity for registration work increased by about 30% between March 2005 and March 2006. Very high levels of customer satisfaction with the centralized services and staff performance have been achieved. These set a challenging benchmark to maintain in future but I also believe that they are well deserved recognition of hard work and constant attention to the quality of customer service by individual officers throughout the department.
While satisfaction with staff performance is high, indications of satisfaction with our electronic services are mixed. Since the launch of IRIS, subscriptions for use of the service have arisen to record levels and the proportion of information services delivered electronically has also risen significantly. However, customer satisfaction with the new system is lower at present than for the old system it replaced. Steps to build confidence in the stability and availability of the system have already been taken and will remain a constant area of attention for us in the coming year.
Title Registration
The review of matters raised by the Legislature when enacting the Land Titles Ordinance in 2004 was largely completed during the year. The main conclusion was that several amendments should be made before the Ordinance is brought into effect. In preparing the amendment bill I have asked the Law Draftsman to give consideration to the longstanding concern of the Law Society and other parties that the language of the Ordinance was complex and likely to give rise to difficulty in interpretation and use. A working draft for the amendment bill has now been produced. It amounts to a substantial reorganization and redrafting of the enacted Ordinance that I hope will do much to dispel the worries raised over the existing wording. Consultation on this working draft is now underway with the Law Society, Bar Association, Consumer Council and other parties and all being well I hope to see the amendment bill put to the Legislative Council for consideration in the coming session.
In parallel with the review of the Ordinance, work has been going ahead on rules, forms and IT systems for the introduction of title registration. Planning for the main public and professional education programme that will be needed once the final form of the Land Titles Ordinance is settled is also underway. Our aim is to ensure that all the measures needed to pave the way to begin title registration for new land and property are ready to be rolled out as soon as the amendment bill is enacted.
Looking Ahead
The Land Registry Trading Fund is in a strong financial position to meet requirements for investment in systems and equipment needed to support title registration as well as improving existing services. We can also provide the high level of investment in staff training and development needed to ensure that all are well prepared for the new responsibilities they will assume under title registration. However, the tight manpower controls on the civil service apply to the Land Registry and are a constraint on the flexibility we have to manage the transition to title registration. Apart from the immediate demands of preparing to launch title registration we will be faced with a lengthy period in which the volume of title registration work will be growing but during which we will also have to maintain the full extent of our deeds registration services.
A key task for the coming year is to secure sufficient flexibility to allow essential recruitment for people with the qualifications and potential we need to build and sustain the teams who will see through the conversion to title registration and maintain the quality and efficiency of deeds registration services. The immediate demands of consultation on the Land Titles (Amendment) Bill must be kept in balance with preparation of the people and organization structure that will put the new legislation to work for the benefit of Hong Kong. The quality of our future services will continue to be grounded in the quality and commitment of each member of the Land Registry team.
K. A. Salkeld, J.P.
The Land Registrar & General Manager
The Land Registry Trading Fund, Hong Kong
22 September 2006 |
