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The proposals regarding the outsourcing of certain support functions have been confirmed.
The decisions announced today retain a greater office presence than the original proposals and rely more on the use of voluntary redundancies, but are still expected to save around £500 million over 10 years.
Final decisions, following consultation, should mitigate significantly the impact on Land Registry's loyal and hard-working staff. There will be more opportunities for staff to apply for voluntary severance. For those facing compulsory redundancy, there will be more opportunities for re-deployment in Land Registry or to other Government Departments, and a comprehensive support package is being put in place-including outplacement support, opportunities for further education and financial advice.
Land Registry believes that the decisions will allow it to make far better use of its buildings and to create significant efficiency savings.
Building as robust and sustainable an organisation as possible will allow Land Registry to be proactive rather than passive in the face of market changes and to be in good shape for a recovery in the property market. Land Registry will be formulating a clear vision and strategic plan of delivery over the coming months to position itself for the future. Land Registry will continue to work to meet the needs of its customers and harness technology to build services around those needs.
The Lord Chancellor also approved changes to Land Registry's governance arrangements that will result in a new Land Registry board, chaired by a non-executive chairman and with more non-executive directors. The new arrangements will strengthen Land Registry's corporate governance and ensure that the actions of the chief land registrar and his management team are subject to appropriate scrutiny.
Land Registry have today published "Land Registry's Accelerated Transformation Programme: Consultation Responses Report", copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.
Prison Service Pay Review Body Appointments
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Maria Eagle):
My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has appointed Professor John Beath for three years, and re-appointed John Davies and Bronwen Curtis, also for three years, as members of the Prison Service Pay Review Body, all commencing March 2010. The appointment and
re-appointments have been conducted in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice for ministerial appointments to public bodies.
Northern Ireland
Devolution (Policing and Justice)
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Paul Goggins): On 9 March 2010 the Northern Ireland Assembly voted, on a cross-community basis, to request the devolution of matters relating to policing and justice. The legislation required to give effect to the transfer of these powers will be debated in the House next week.
To underpin the practical arrangements relating to policing and justice post-devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly, several documents have been developed or revised. These documents are, in summary:
A Protocol on National Security
The national security protocol sets out how the Secretary of State and the Justice Minister will work together where there is an interface between the Justice Minister's responsibilities for policing and justice and the Secretary of State's statutory responsibility for national security.
Concordats on Judicial Independence and on Prosecutorial Independence
Concordats are non-legally binding agreements between the UK Government and the devolved Administration. Both of these documents underscore the principles of judicial and prosecutorial independence enshrined in legislation, and reflect the constitutional position that there should be a clear separation between the executive arm of Government and the administration of the law.
Intergovernmental Agreements on Criminal Justice Co-operation and on Police Co-operation
There are existing agreements in these fields between the two sovereign Governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland and they are binding in international law. They now incorporate minimal amendments that are necessary to take account of the devolution in responsibility for policing and justice. The purpose of the agreements is to underpin cross-border co-operation on policing and criminal justice.
A separate protocol on policing architecture is in development and will be finalised by the Northern Ireland Executive after devolution. I expect to be able to share this with Parliament at a later date.
I have arranged for copies of each of the documents to be placed in the Library of the House.
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