This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New Board For Registers Of Scotland
22/02/2001
Advice to Scottish Ministers on the future direction of the Registers of Scotland (RoS) Executive Agency will be given by a new Board, Justice Minister Jim Wallace announced today.
The Ministerial Advisory Board will provide a direct link between the Executive and the RoS through which Ministers can monitor and help shape the Agency's performance, targets and strategic direction. The new Board will replace the Registers of Scotland Strategic Advisory Group (RoSSAG) which was set up in 1997.
The RoS has responsibility for maintaining the Land Register and Register of Sasines, and providing good quality services at a reasonable price to people involved in property transactions.
Mr Wallace said:
"RoSSAG did a good job in making sure that the interests of major users of RoS's services were represented. But the Group was purely advisory in role, and had no direct links to Ministers.
"The new Board will help the Executive measure the Agency's performance and contribute to the shape of its future plans. It will include people with relevant management, financial and corporate experience, who will be able to bring independent judgement to bear on issues of strategy, performance, and resources.
"This will provide valuable input to the range of issues facing the Agency. These include the pace of progress towards web-based access to its products, the introduction of automated registration of title to land and future changes to Scots land registration and property law."
The new Board will meet quarterly and will report through its Chairman to Ministers. The first meeting is expected to take place in the summer of this year.
Ministers will appoint three non-executive directors to the Board to bring to it independent outside experience in areas such as managing finances and human resources, major IT systems and customer service.
BACKGROUND
1. The last meeting of RoSSAG took place on 20 February.
- The setting up of a Ministerial Advisory Board for RoS was recommended by KPMG in a Policy and Financial Management Review of the Board in December 1998.
- The new Board is to be chaired by Mr Jim Gallagher, the Head of the Scottish Executive Justice Department. The other members of the Board will be the Keeper of the Registers, the Deputy Keeper, and Managing Director of the Registers and three non-Executive directors, one of whom will be from the legal profession.
News Release: SE0439/2001
22 Feb 2001