R.J.Smith & A.G.Puddicombe
ABSTRACT
In 1992 as part of the Government’s Citizen’s Charter Initiative the Chief Land Registrar of the time, John Manthorpe, was invited to bring together senior officers from departments and public authorities holding and maintaining authoritative data on land and property
to explore ideas for bringing together information held by the Land Registry and other public bodies [to] speed up and promote security in property transactions and bring details of all land information into the public domain.
The group very quickly developed the concept of a National Land Information Service (NLIS) providing the channel through which electronically-based land information is passed in a controlled manner from data provider to end user. They saw NLIS as having the potential to make a major contribution to the Government’s aims of working in partnership with local government and the private sector; delivering customer-focussed services; and improving access to public sector data via new information services.
It is evident that the critical elements for success for NLIS - Open Government policies, the availability of data and standards, partnership business models, Internet technology, commercial enthusiasm and a growing market demand - have now converged. Together they underpin the technical and commercial feasibility of NLIS.
In addition real progress has been made taking NLIS from a bold concept into a real service for the citizen. A proof of concept Conveyancing Pilot is already providing on-line services in the working environment of three firms of solicitors in Bristol. A consultant’s report on the commercial framework for NLIS suggests extra revenues of over £100 million will be generated by a conveyancing application alone. And important private sector information service providers are already embracing the data standards at the heart of NLIS.
INTRODUCTION
Reliable information lies at the heart of efficient and confident decision making on land and property matters. These decisions are often the most important that individuals or businesses will make and hence the need for accurate, authoritative and accessible land and property information cannot be underestimated.
For example, individuals require information from central and local government, from utilities and from the private sector when they are buying or selling a house. Banks and building societies need title and valuation information when they are granting loans against land and property. And property developers need environmental and land use data when they are considering building on possibly contaminated land.
All of this information is available, usually on paper and generally at a price, from a variety of sources. However the data is fragmented and often difficult and time-consuming to locate and obtain, and the quality is variable. Furthermore, it is not easy to match the datasets, which use different geographical locators and descriptive terms. Hence it has been suggested that Government, which holds and maintains the core land information datasets, should establish a National Land Information Service (NLIS) to make land and property information more readily accessible.
This paper addresses the technical, commercial and operational feasibility of NLIS. It draws on the programme of work carried out under the direction of the NLIS Steering Group and, more recently, the NLIS Executive Board (see Appendix A). This programme has refined the concept of NLIS as a channel or channels through which electronically based land and property information is passed in a controlled manner, as shown schematically below.
The paper reviews the work of the NLIS Steering Group under three broad headings: raising awareness of land and property information; assessing the commercial framework for NLIS; and proof of concept projects.
RAISING AWARENESS OF LAND AND PROPERTY INFORMATION
The NLIS Steering Group has undertaken three broad ranges of activities to promote the awareness of land and property information and its use.
Firstly it has compiled a leaflet on "Public Information about Land and Property" to help the public to locate existing sources of information. The leaflet, which is now in its second edition and available in English and Welsh, highlights the diverse and complex nature of land information in England and Wales, with 46 national bodies and 449 local authorities listed. Readers can find out about information held by various public bodies in England and Wales to do with the home, the local area, the environment and business matters.
Secondly, the Steering Group has developed the NLIS Demonstrator to show how a single user computer terminal can access the live land information databases of HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, Valuation Office and Bristol City Council for two postal districts covering about 30,000 properties in Bristol. Demonstrations have been given over 6,000 people on 250 occasions, including representatives from:
Most attendees at these demonstrations found NLIS directly relevant to their work, although they were, in the main, unaware of the developments taking place. Particular emphasis was placed on the usefulness of an integrated channel to access data about planning applications, extent of ownership, information maps of one sort or another, environmental data and information about values and prices. The attendees expressed great enthusiasm for the concept and looked forward to a national service, although there was scepticism as to how soon that might be.
Thirdly, the NLIS Steering Group has, through its members, supported the development of other land and property related projects, such as the National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF), the UK Standard Geographic Base and the National Topographic Database. These are fundamental to the efficient integration of multiple geospatial datasets that will underpin an expanded market for value-added products and services. The NGDF initiative is led by the Ordnance Survey and was endorsed by Government in 1996.
The commercial framework For NLIS
Considerable comfort as to the commercial viability of NLIS can be derived from earlier studies such as Domesday 2000 and from current activities in the public and private sectors both in this country and abroad.
In addition, the NLIS Steering Group commissioned consultants to consult the legal sector, financial institutions, the property sector, environmental agencies, and the retail and insurance sectors to:
The study supported the commercial feasibility of the vision of NLIS as a channel or channels for land and property information. For example, the service providers identified major benefits from including the saving of time (and hence money), the ability to provide clients with a better service, and the more effective targeting of clients. Some were already planning their involvement. The data providers were also enthusiastic with the prospect of new revenue and business development opportunities, as well as scope for improving public service obligations.
The research identified about 60 market sectors requiring 20 generic services. Notwithstanding this diversity, there was a general view that NLIS should start with a small core upon which further applications could be built, in order to avoid the dangers of trying to do too much too soon. This is very much in line with the views from other land information services around the world, where the over-riding message is "Think big, start small".
Conveyancing was identified as the primary user of NLIS, at least initially. Six other applications (shown below) were identified as also having a high commercial value and have been used to estimate the likely commercial feasibility of NLIS. Many more are likely to develop over time.
Opportunity |
Sector |
Process |
| Conveyancing | Domestic, commercial | All aspects of conveyancing |
| Environmental assessment | Multiple | Site contamination assessment |
| Geo-marketing | Marketing | Property enquiries, demographic/ trend analysis |
| Collateral risk analysis | Financial services | Property
enquiries, financial/legal, conveyancing, environmental and risk analysis |
| Insurance risk analysis | Property underwriters | Property enquiries, environmental and risk analysis |
| Property enquiry service | Multiple | Access to owner, value and use of land and property |
| Policy support | Government | Trend analyses, policy monitoring |
The research indicated that users were prepared to pay a higher price for added value information or services. For example, perhaps because of pressures of time, many conveyancing searches currently stop at the property boundary. Elsewhere searches are not carried simply because the availability of information is not known.
On this basis the consultants estimated the market value of the NLIS activities with the greatest immediate potential. The most significant by far was conveyancing, which was expected to generate a new annual revenue stream of over £100 million. Whilst the NLIS Conveyancing Pilot was being developed, a supplementary consultancy was commissioned to validate the assumptions and the conclusions of the original consultancy, concentrating on the construction of a comprehensive business case.
Both consultancies recommended that a full-time project team be established to pursue the NLIS vigorously. The also reported a strong feeling that control should be effected by an independent, authoritative and non-profit making government body to:
It was also recognised that a much more formal structure than has hitherto existed would be necessary to pursue these aspects vigorously and considered the following options:
While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each option, the consultants felt that a Company Limited by Guarantee would be the best way forward. The Steering Group, recognising the difficulties stemming from the cross-departmental nature of NLIS and its early stage of development, does not necessarily share this view and discussions continue.
PROOF OF CONCEPT PROJECTS
Although the NLIS concept lends itself to many different types of application, one stands out. Conveyancing was identified as the prime NLIS opportunity by the market research undertaken within the consultancies. It also relates to a ‘life episode’ when information services are needed from many individual data suppliers, which are approached using a wide variety of interfaces.
Hence it was considered appropriate to develop a Conveyancing Pilot as the first proof of concept project, to see if those information requirements could be bundled together into a seamless service. It is based on the conveyancing search process and seeks to meet the day-to-day needs identified by three firms of solicitors in Bristol and representatives from both the local and national Law Societies.
The Pilot draws on the lessons learnt from the NLIS Demonstrator in the specification, development and implementation of a data channel operating in a working environment. It will use existing data network services to provide the infrastructure to request and deliver data between source and user, with new software based on Internet technology providing the communications. Each data provider will remain responsible for its own data.
The Pilot explores the potential for improving the efficiency of the interface between the data providers and the conveyancers. It will also examine the benefits to the citizen in providing more security in what is probably the biggest investment in his or her life. For example, access is being provided to important environmental data not readily available elsewhere. In addition it is hoped that the Pilot will provide information early in the sale process to avoid unnecessary financial outlay and the disappointment of withdrawing from purchase.
The Pilot provides online access to both text and map based information held by the key data providers identified by the User Group:
Organisation |
Data |
| Bristol City Council | Local Land Charges, Common Land and Village Greens |
| Bristol Water | Mains Water Information |
| British Geological Survey | Full Geological and Home Buyers Reports, Radon Gas Information |
| Ordnance Survey | Mapping Data, Meridian and Landline, NLPG Property Location |
| Coal Authority | Coal Mining Search |
| Companies House | Company Details, Director Details |
| Environment Agency | River Enquiries, Waste Regulations, Pollution Control |
| HM Land Registry | Land Register, Filed Plan |
| HM Land Charges | Bankruptcy Information, Unregistered Land Ownership |
| Highways Agency | Highway Development Projects |
| Lord Chancellor’s Department | UK Statute Law Database |
| Valuation Office Agency | Commercial Property Rating Assessment and Floor Area Coverage, Residential Council Tax Bands, Letting Values |
| Wessex Water | Mains Drainage Information |
Setting up the Pilot has been extremely useful in gaining experience in identifying the needs of users; aggregating data from different sources; electronic fee charging; and legal issues such as contracts, copyright, and data protection. While the problems are by no means trivial, no ‘showstoppers’ have been identified.
The development of the Pilot has also demonstrated the effective use of the British Standard BS7666, ‘Spatial Datasets for Geographic Referencing’, in the construction and operation of a Land & Property Gazetteer (LPG). It provides a common referencing system for land and property units and is the backbone of both the NLIS and the parallel project in Scotland, ScotLIS. The Bristol LPG is now in use within the City Council and is updated electronically by the main property data providers – Bristol City Council, Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry – across the network set up for the Conveyancing Pilot.
Separate discussions on extending the Pilot are underway with RICS, to initiate a second NLIS proof of concept project for surveyors and valuers. The project will be split into three phases, to cover information needs, the market demand, and the operation of a prototype. HM Land Registry, RICS and Ordnance Survey will be the sponsors. A user panel has been formed to consider applications in the valuation, agency management and investment activities carried out by general practice chartered surveyors. It is anticipated that this focus will introduce financial institutions, mortgage lenders, property developers and the insurance sector to the advantages of NLIS
The Executive Board are currently considering how to take NLIS forward from its present status as pathfinder project to reality and are addressing the many challenges that this brings.
The Conveyancing Application in More Detail
As described above the NLIS Management felt it essential to demonstrate the practicality of NLIS by some form of trial, and hence the Bristol pilot. A feasibility study identified that conveyancing was a good example of NLIS and that it was possible to technically achieve the aims of linking a range of data providers together across a network to provide an integrated, online service to users – in this case, the legal profession.
The first activity was to set up a panel of users to guide this requirement into reality. This was organised with the assistance of the Law Society and is now well established. The panel consists of representatives from three solicitors' ’conveyancing firms in Bristol, a Land Registry lawyer and representatives from the national and local Law Societies.
The first step was to identify the user requirements. After a number of brainstorming and validation sessions, 60 items were added to a requirements catalogue. The high level requirements encompassed the NLIS (and Government) concepts – a "one stop" shop for information with the results available online.
There were many detailed requirements including :-
From the user requirement, the sources of data were identified. Some were obvious, others less so. More than 20 were originally identified, but for the purposes of the pilot this was too many to cater for within the budget. A process of prioritisation then took place with the users and a set of 13 and are defined in Section 4 above.
The application architecture was built accordingly and comprised:-
APPENDIX A THE NLIS STEERING GROUP AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
A.1 The NLIS Steering Group is chaired by the Chief Land Registrar and is composed of senior officers from the following departments and public authorities holding and maintaining authoritative data on land and property:
A.2 The Steering Group was established to address the commitment in the Citizen’s Charter White Paper: First Report 1992 to explore ideas for bringing together information held by the Land Registry and other public bodies. This would help speed up and promote security in property transactions and bring details of all land information into the public domain.
A.3 The first meeting of the Steering Group was held on 21 January 1993. Since then the Group has met 17 times. In addition a number of sub-groups and working parties have met to examine various themes and carry out particular studies.
A.4 Developments have been funded by the participating organisations from their own resources on a ‘research and development’ basis. All the agencies contributing to the project have benefited from the technical know-how generated and from the practical, inter-agency co-operation.
A.5 More recently an NLIS Executive Board, also chaired by the Chief Land Registrar, has been set up. This body enables senior officers from the main stakeholders - HM Land Registry, the Local Government Management Board, Ordnance Survey and the Valuation Office - to meet once a month and consider practical issues surrounding the development of NLIS. Also on the Board are the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, and representatives from CITU and Citizen’s Charter Unit.