Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2020 to Question 112078, Land Registry: Artificial Intelligence, what progress has been made by the Land Registry on exploring new and emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning through its Digital Street research and development project.
Answered by George Freeman
HM Land Registry (HMLR) is already using machine learning to enable its caseworkers to compare documents more efficiently, to make the Land Register increasingly machine readable and to accelerate the migration of Local Authority data as part of the Local Land Charges programme.
HMLR’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 includes an update on the Digital Street research and development programme and is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) artificial intelligence and (b) machine learning projects are being (i) undertaken and (ii) considered for the Land Registry.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HM Land Registry has been exploring new and emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as part of its Digital Street research and development project since 2017. It is aiming to begin to use Machine Learning capabilities within its casework management systems in 2021/22, and is building its Data Science capability to explore and exploit future opportunities that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning may provide.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Answer of 15 June 2018 to Question 151096 on Land Registry: Cybercrime, what the outcomes relating to the use of (a) blockchain and (b) artificial intelligence are of the HM Land Registry's Digital Street project.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The HM Land Registry’s research and development ‘Digital Street’ project is ongoing. The findings of the project are incorporated into HM Land Registry’s forward strategy on a continuing basis.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the level of threat of a cyber attack on the UK Land Registry; what steps the Land Registry has taken to protect people's land registrations from cyber attacks; and how much and what proportion of the Land Registry's data has been put on a secure blockchain since the Registry's announcement to do so in July 2017.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
HM Land Registry has a strong security culture and works with colleagues from across government to protect the organisation from cyber threats. The land register is protected by a broad and effective range of security controls which are regularly verified and tested by experts inside and outside of the organisation. HM Land Registry implements all cyber standards published by the National Cyber Security Centre. Future digital developments are subjected to significant scrutiny including by specialists from the National Cyber Security Centre who are undertaking a review of all cyber security risks and how these are managed by HM Land Registry.
HM Land Registry do not currently hold any of their data on a blockchain. In July 2017 HM Land Registry announced that they are working on ‘Digital Street’, a research and development project exploring the future of digital conveyancing, including the potential use of new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.