All 376 local authorities (LA) in England and Wales can now process searches submitted through the NLIS network, although 40%
of them are only connected to NLIS at Level 1 and, worse, there are a dozen more yet to go on-line. And it must be said that Level 1 is pretty basic stuff. It means the LAs can receive NLIS searches via the Document Exchange (DX) which they process by whatever means their internal systems
allow – either totally manual or partial computerised – and they then return the completed search via the DX system.
Level 2 LAs can receive search requests electronically but then process them either manually, partially
computerised or fully computerised, and will usually return the completed searches electronically.
Level 3 is the all-singing and all-dancing version: electronic in, electronic processing followed by electronic return.
And it is Level 3 LAs which are really setting the pace as Jan Boothroyd, from Local Government Information House (LGIH) explains:
“Level 3 is the level of connection all LAs should be aiming at. So when people say it is taking a long time, they are referring to the time
it is taking for a Level 1 LA to modernise and move to Level 3.”
And Boothroyd should know, her role within LGIH is to ensure that LAs, in particular the Local Land Charges Sections, are ready and able to
meet and explore the challenges and opportunities presented by NLIS. “Bearing in mind that this project only went live in Autumn 2001, to have all
LA accepting searches via NLIS, to have 109 authorities differentially pricing searches, and to have nearly 50% of LA online is an achievement to be proud of,” she says.
With numerous technology suppliers offering a variety of systems to get them all connected to the NLIS hub, the programme is gathering pace.
What prevents faster progress?
Differential pricing was one idea intended to help encourage NLIS take-up in the market-place. However, to date, only 109 local
authorities are operating a differential pricing policy. Apart from making NLIS searches more appealing to conveyancers, pricing NLIS below the cost of postal searches allows
LAs to compete with personal search providers, which are often cheaper and faster than postal searches.
Despite being around for decades, addressing the challenges posed by the alternative land and property information
providers requires a considerable culture and process change. Unfortunately, some LAs see this as a threat more than an opportunity.
“There are some LAs which haven't recognised the full potential of NLIS,” Boothroyd agrees. “But why would anyone
want to negotiate their way through 376 different web sites and the 60+ other data providers sites when they can order all of their searches by inserting the address just once via NLIS?”
NLIS is a local Government owned and regulated (by LGIH) project and for it to fully benefit local Government all LAs need to be opn-line.
Some LAs see no need for differential pricing because they are already a Level 3 authority providing a very good service: once searches are received, they
are turned around in two or three days. With demand for NLIS increasing, they see no need to reduce their pricing to favour NLIS searches.
NLIS and local authorities
The Lord Chancellor appreciates that NLIS needs to be encouraged, and saw differential pricing as an attraction.
However he has no plans to force differential pricing on the LAs. Their fees are deregulated on the latest form CON29, so LAs can set their own fee level.
Others argue that the usage of NLIS is very much out of their hands and not price sensitive. Solicitors are being encouraged to connect to NLIS and the service suppliers
must sell the benefits of NLIS to solicitors, highlighting the advantages it will bring to their business processes.
Trigger Systems Upgrades
For LAs it brings an opportunity to automate back-office services so that they can deliver a much speedier service
generally. But that is an expensive exercise and all LAs are finding their budgets under pressure. They need to increase fees and
charges merely to offset these budget shortfalls and cannot then justify even further increases to fund such investment.
However, there are organisations in the private sector providing a similar service and often at a greatly reduced cost.
Obviously the more LAs prices go up, the more danger there is that they will lose out to the private sector.
As well as providing land and property searches, Councils have a multitude of other tasks and responsibilities. Each LA
is effectively a separate business where the Elected Councillors, Chief Executive and Departmental Directors are responsible for setting their
own priorities and ensuring they are implemented accordingly. Consequently, resources, particularly IT-related resources can often become stretched.
So the NLIS objective requires all LA processes to create a single fully electronic service and that requires both a robust IT
infrastructure and a major data capture programme. However once this captured data is stored, ideally as a Geographic Information System,
it can be used by all internal departments improving the Council's all round operational efficiency. The obvious benefits of this major strategic
decision appeal to forward thinking Senior Managers and Council Members however the sheer scale of the data capture problem must not be underestimated.
To answer a LA search the following sections may need to be contacted: Housing, Highways, Planning, Building Control, Environmental Health,
Public Rights of Way, and Local Plans. Business Rates or Council Tax departments may also feed in information.
As Boothroyd concludes: “This is taking a long time because of the size of the project. Data capture is neither quick nor
cheap and LAs have other responsibilities. People should remember that while homebuying and selling a house may be
number one on their agenda, it isn't necessarily number one for all the LAs”
EAE File Reference: H078 last revised on Saturday, 15 March 2003