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The proposals announced today, which have been developed by the Land Registry working with the operational efficiency programme, have been accelerated by the property slump-which drastically cut Land Registry's work and led to a £129.9 million loss including restructuring costs in 2008-09-but they are not a knee-jerk response to it. They will, however, allow Land Registry to respond faster and more efficiently to future fluctuations in the market. 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.

The proposed closure of the five offices will be very unwelcome news for Land Registry staff. Land Registry will do whatever it can to ameliorate the impact on its exceptionally loyal, dedicated and hardworking workforce.

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Unfortunately, however, compulsory redundancies will undoubtedly be necessary if the proposals put forward are confirmed.

Land Registry believes that the proposals will allow it to make far better use of its buildings and to create significant efficiency savings. Land Registry makes no call on taxpayers' money but it expects cutting its costs to allow its fees to be significantly reduced over the next five years.

Looking ahead, Land Registry will continue to work with the operational efficiency programme to identify additional opportunities to involve the private sector in its business while recognising that the creation, recording and guaranteeing of registered titles should remain a responsibility of Government. There will be a further statement in the Pre-Budget Report.

Land Registry has today published Land Registry's Accelerated Transformation Programme: Consultation on office closures, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

Northern Ireland: Decommissioning

Statement

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Shaun Woodward) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

At the start of September I received a report from the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD). I have placed a copy of the report in the Library.

The IICD reports that it has overseen a decommissioning event by the Ulster Volunteer Force

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(UVF) and Red Hand Commando (RHC). The IICD believes that it has now completed the decommissioning of UVF/RHC arms.

The IICD also reports that it has overseen an act of decommissioning by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). It has received assurances that this is the first in a series of acts and that the UDA has committed to decommission the remainder of its arms before the expiry of the IICD's mandate.

This is a significant report that confirms that substantial practical progress has been made on decommissioning loyalist paramilitary weapons. This is a tremendous achievement that reflects the hard work of the IICD. It is to be congratulated.

In February I committed to bring the decommissioning amnesty period to an early end if there had not been substantial progress within the six months that followed extension. In light of this report I have therefore decided to let the decommissioning amnesty period continue to run until February 2010. I urge all paramilitary groups to continue to show leadership and complete the decommissioning process.

Social Fund Commissioner

Statement

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): I am pleased to announce that Karamjit Singh CBE has been appointed the new Social Fund Commissioner for Great Britain and Northern Ireland following an open recruitment exercise. Karamjit will take up the post from 1 December 2009 for a three-year term.

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