Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) recruit more Land Registry caseworkers and (b) reduce backlogs in the Land Registry application system.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) has recruited over 3,300 new staff in the last five years. It has made significant progress in reducing waiting times for applicants. The age of outstanding post-completion applications is now under 12 months across all service lines, from a peak of 20 months in February 2023.

HMLR is committed to building on this progress by further expanding its capacity and capability. Through the automation of administrative processes, its staff will be freed to focus on more complex tasks that require their expertise. HMLR is also continually enhancing its digital customer services, with innovations like pre-submission application checks, designed to support customers and improve the quality of applications. Together, these initiatives will drive down delays, reduce the number of outstanding post-completion applications, and provide an overall better experience for customers.

HMLR acknowledges that some customers may not yet feel the full impact of these improvements. If a delay to an application may cause financial, legal, or personal problems or put a property sale at risk, it can be expedited free of charge. HMLR processes nearly 1,400 expedited applications every day, with more than 95% of these processed within 10 working days.