Category: Gov Press Releases

Today, 11 July 2018, HM Land Registry launches its new digital Local Land Charges (LLC) Register. Warwick District Council’s data will be the first to be available. Anyone requiring local land charge searches in the local authority area of Warwick from today onwards will need to get them from HM Land Registry rather than going to the council.

This marks another step in HM Land Registry’s transformation to fulfil its ambition to be the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data. The creation of a new digital LLC Register follows the launch of the first digital mortgage in April. Both mark milestones in using digital technology and data innovatively to provide quicker and simpler services for customers.

Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar Graham Farrant said:

Buying a house is the biggest financial investment of people’s lives. By centralising and digitising the local land charges information of local authorities in England we are helping to improve conveyancing. Search results from the new register will be instantly available in a standard, easy-to-read format. This is another significant step forward in the Government’s ambition to make the home-buying process simpler, faster and cheaper.

Warwick District Council is leading the way by being the first local authority to migrate their local land charges data to our new register. I look forward to more local authorities joining the central register during the year.

Warwick District Council’s Chief Executive Chris Elliott commented:

As a forward-looking council aiming to provide the best possible service to all of our customers, we very much welcome any measures which will speed up the process of buying a home. Opening up our data to HM Land Registry will be a huge benefit not only to those wishing to purchase a home or land in our district, but also to our busy planning team.

HM Land Registry is working in partnership with up to 26 local authorities in England this year to migrate their LLC data to a central, digital register in a phased approach. Once the data is migrated, anyone will be able to get instant online search results via GOV.UK: Search for Local Land Charges.

HM Land Registry’s business customers can use their existing portal and Business Gateway channels.

HM Land Registry will keep customers informed when each local authority’s LLC records are migrated to the new digital register.

For an overview of the new service, watch our short video.

Creating a national Local Land Charges Register

For more information, read about the Local Land Charges programme.

Notes to editors

1. Most local land charges are restrictions or obligations on a piece of land or property such as listed status, tree preservation orders or notice of a conservation area. A search of these is normally required in the process of buying a home and are essential to mortgage lenders’ understanding of the risks to their loans. Each local authority maintains an LLC register for its administrative area and the records are held in a variety of formats such as paper, electronic and digital. Prices vary considerably, ranging from £3 to £76, and in some areas it can take up to 30 days to deliver the search results. This has led to an inconsistent service for customers depending on their postcode. HM Land Registry’s new digital service will remove those inconsistencies, providing a standardised, digital result.
2. Common obligations protected as local land charges include: planning permissions, listed buildings, conservation areas, tree preservation orders, improvement and renovation grants, smoke control zones and light obstruction notices.
3. Customers will need to continue to submit CON29 enquiries to local authorities. CON 29 enquiries relate to matters such as nearby road schemes or outstanding notices, which may affect a property purchaser’s decision whether to proceed.
4. Over the course of 2018, the following local authorities’ local land charges data will transfer to HM Land Registry: Blackpool Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, City of London Corporation, Liverpool City Council, London Borough of Lambeth, Norwich City Council, Peterborough City Council, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
5. Read about what the service offers for an official search (£15) and a personal search (free).
6. According to HM Land Registry data assessments, there are approximately 25 million LLC records held across England.
7. The Infrastructure Act 2015 makes provision for the transfer of responsibility for Local Land Charge registers from 326 English local authorities to HM Land Registry.
8. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 85% of the land mass of England and Wales
9. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
10. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.
11. Follow us on: Twitter @HMLandRegistry, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

The Western Balkans Summit concluded yesterday (10 July) with Prime Minister Theresa May welcoming the six Western Balkan leaders to London, alongside other European figures including German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki.

At the Summit, the Prime Minister welcomed the signing of Joint Declarations on Good Neighbourly Relations, War Crimes and Missing Persons by leaders of the Berlin Process. Leaders congratulated Prime Ministers Zaev and Tsipras on securing agreement on the Name Issue. In support of these declarations, the UK will commit to an additional £1 million to help the region address difficult legacy issues.

The Prime Minister also announced at the Summit that the UK will increase its funding to the region to £80m in 2020/21 and will double the number of UK staff working in the region on the security issues affecting the UK and the Western Balkans. This will help prevent crime reaching UK streets and also help strengthen the region’s own response to serious and organised crime, corruption and money laundering. The UK will also invest £1m in the region’s cyber capability.

The Summit was the culmination of preparatory meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Security, and Economy and Finance Ministers in Vienna and London.

At the meeting of Foreign Ministers in London on 9 July, Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan announced that the UK will commit £10 million to help build digital skills and employment prospects for young people in the Western Balkans.

The funding will see the British Council provide training to children in over 4,500 schools, to bolster digital literacy and core skills across the region. Foreign Ministers also heard directly from young people and civil society groups from the region and congratulated the winners of the Youth Entrepreneurship “Start Up” Games.

Sir Alan also announced a new £4m programme to expand Westminster Foundation for Democracy across the Western Balkans.

In parallel, at the meeting of Interior and Security Ministers chaired by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Western Balkans ministers signed a Joint Declaration on the Principles of Information-Exchange in the Field of Law Enforcement, committing them to deeper cooperation on tackling transnational serious and organised crime and terrorism.

Participants also endorsed a Franco-German initiative to combat the illicit possession, misuse and trafficking of firearms from the region by 2024 and welcomed the endorsement of the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, and Human Trafficking by the Western Balkans. As next year’s hosts, Poland’s Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski confirmed that their Summit will continue the UK’s security agenda.

At the meeting of Ministers of Economy and Finance in Vienna on 4 July, co-chaired by Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Permanent Under Secretary and Austrian Minister Schramboeck, Western Balkans’ ministers agreed to deepen regional economic integration.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The independent Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) is today (Wednesday 11 July) launching an intensive period of evidence gathering with the aim of publishing a first-of-its-kind study into all forms of extremism.

Lead Commissioner Sara Khan says she is willing to be as radical as needed, when it comes to looking at how to counter extremism in the future.

Neither the issue of terrorism nor the government’s counter terrorism strategy (which includes Prevent) are in the CCE’s remit.

Lead Commissioner Sara Khan says she wants to show people the deep, chronic harm extremism causes in communities.

In the coming months, the CCE will review existing academic evidence on extremism, commission bespoke research and issue a public call for evidence. Sara wants to hear from victims, their families and all those that counter extremism.

The government has already committed to sharing information with the commission.

The CCE will also ask regulators, local councils and police forces, universities and other public and private bodies to share information on extremism.

The evidence drive and comprehensive study will, Sara explains, help build greater understanding of extremism and engage more people than ever in tackling it.

Marking the launch Sara reveals she has already met more than 300 experts and activists, and visited ten towns and cities.

She has identified critical issues for the Commission to investigate as part of its study:

• communities are deeply concerned about extremism – the CCE will investigate the scale of the problem; the changing tactics of extremists and the harm extremism causes in communities
• we have the start of a powerful counter extremism movement but brave individuals and groups face abuse and vilification – the CCE will investigate the current response to extremism and how we can help everyone to do more challenge extremism
• the public debate on extremism is increasingly polarised, leaving some nervous about speaking out – the CCE will consider how we can have a constructive and civilised debate on the issue

In a further announcement, Sara today confirms that she has created a new Expert Group to advise and challenge the CCE on its work.

The experienced and diverse panel includes grassroots activists; individuals with decades of frontline experience; leading figures on Far Right and Islamist extremism, experts on social media and campaigners on freedom of speech. (the full list is below).

The group will meet around four times over the coming year to advise and challenge the lead commissioner.

Sara was asked by the previous Home Secretary to lead the CCE in January.

In March, the CCE was formerly launched as an independent body, with the publication of a charter outlining its independent role.

Sara agreed the following three objectives for her first year: publish a comprehensive study; engage widely, building a network of counter extremists; and establish a robust commission making recommendations about its future structure.

Today’s announcements come after Lead Commissioner Sara Khan met the Home Secretary Sajid Javid to update him on the work of the CCE shortly after his appointment.

Lead Commissioner Sara Khan said:

This is an important moment for the commission as we move from our introductory phase to a period of intensive evidence gathering, with the aim of publishing a first-of-its-kind study.

I’ve already met with more than 300 experts and activists. Communities are deeply concerned about the impact of extremism.

Extremism is sowing division and hate, spreading fear and undermining democratic values and human rights.

But it’s also complex and changing – in 2018 the old stereotypes of Far-Right thugs and Islamist hate preachers don’t always apply.

Whether it’s Far Right, Islamist or other forms of extremism, we need to investigate their changing tactics such as a new-found professionalism; the intellectualising of hate and abusing the power of social media.

There are brave, inspiring counter extremists up and down the country making a difference despite threats and abuse. I believe we have the start of a powerful counter extremism movement.

We need to understand modern day extremism better, so we can help more people to challenge it. That is why this study is so important.

The public debate on extremism is increasingly polarised, leaving some nervous about speaking out. We need to investigate how we improve the debate around extremism, so it’s more constructive.

We must be prepared to follow the evidence and to be as radical as necessary when it comes to countering extremism.

Evidence gathering

In the coming months, the CCE will:

• work with research experts to assess current academic evidence and pinpoint the gaps. The CCE will use the government definition of extremism as a starting point for this stage. Its work and research, however, will not be limited by this definition
• work with experts and activists at local and national levels, including government, to prioritise work to address the gaps
• use this assessment as a springboard to commission bespoke pieces of research on critical issues
• consult the public, including asking them to submit evidence, and visiting communities affected by extremism
• the government has already committed to sharing information with the commission – the CCE will also ask regulators, local councils and police forces, universities and other public and private bodies to share information on extremism

Expert Group

• Sir David Anderson KBE QC, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation
• Jamie Bartlett, author and Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos
• Professor Chetan Bhatt, Director, Centre for the Study of Human Rights, LSE
• Dame Louise Casey DBE CB, led a review into opportunity and integration in some of our most isolated communities
• Sasha Havlicek, Chief Executive of the Institute of Strategic Dialogue
• Dr Azeem Ibrahim, author and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute
• Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future
• Nick Lowles MBE, Chief Executive, Hope Not Hate
• Katie Morris, Head of Europe and Central Asia, Article 19
• Fiyaz Mughal OBE FCMI, founder and director of Faith Matters and founder of Tell Mama
• Pragna Patel, Director, Southall Black Sisters
• Sir Mark Rowley KB QPM, former Assistant Commissioner Metropolitan Police

Full biographies will be available on the Commission’s blog

Commenting on the news, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt Hon Mark Field MP, said:

I am delighted and relieved to hear that the boys, the coach, and the rescue divers have all emerged in safety from the Tham Luang caves in Northern Thailand. We wish everyone involved a swift recovery in the coming days.

This rescue operation has been an uplifting example of intense bravery and exemplary skill.
The volunteers of the British Cave Rescue Council have played a crucial role, under the careful and focused leadership of the Thai authorities. Their courage is only matched by their modesty and dedication to do their best to help those in danger.

It is also a time for quiet reflection on the tragic loss of Petty Officer First Class Saman Gunan in the course of the rescue operation. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Mark Field @MarkFieldUK
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Commenting on his appointment as Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox QC MP has said:

It is an honour to be appointed Attorney General for England and Wales. I look forward to building on the successes of my predecessor and I want to thank Jeremy Wright for his distinguished four years in the role.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is a unique and historic government department. I am proud to be joining the AGO, which has the highest staff engagement score in central Government. I look forward to working with the Solicitor General to play my part in making law and politics work together at the heart of the UK constitution.

The Prime Minister appointed Geoffrey Cox QC MP as Attorney General on 9 July.

As the Government’s chief legal advisor, Geoffrey Cox will advise the Government and attend Cabinet. The new Attorney General will also oversee the work of the Law Officers Departments which include the independent prosecuting authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office, and the Government Legal Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

Geoffrey Cox will cease all private practice as a barrister, as previous Law Officers have done on appointment.

The Attorney General and Solicitor General also carry out a number of functions in the public interest, such as considering unduly lenient sentences, and take action when there has been a contempt of court. These functions are carried out independently of their role as Government ministers.

Notes
Geoffrey Cox QC MP was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales on 9 July 2018. He replaces Jeremy Wright QC MP who is now Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, remains in post.

Geoffrey Cox’s biography:

Geoffrey Cox has been MP for Torridge and West Devon since May 2005. He lives in West Devon, near Tavistock, with his wife, Jeanie and his family. They have a daughter and two sons, Charlotte, James and Jonathan who attended the local school. Geoffrey was born and brought up in the West Country.

Geoffrey Cox QC was called to the Bar in 1982 and made Silk in 2003. He co-founded Thomas More Chambers in 1992.

Geoffrey Cox has appeared in many high profile cases receiving national and international publicity from trial to appeal before the Court of Appeal, the Privy Council and the Supreme Court. His advocacy has been described by a professional court journalist in a recent book as “extremely persuasive”.

Geoffrey is a member of the Criminal Bar Association.

As fans’ cheer on Harry Kane and co in their bid for World Cup semi-final glory, the country’s busiest roads are set to fall somewhat more silent than they normally would be midweek at 7pm.

A brief analysis of traffic on each of the England match days to date, comparing an hour before kick-off to two hours after, showed that during the games demand reduced by up to 33%.

And the roads were not busier than normal immediately before, or after the games, suggesting people are often choosing not to travel or to travel at completely different times, rather than to change their journeys to earlier or later times in the same day.

Highway England, the government company responsible for motorways and major A roads, is urging anyone travelling home to watch the match, and anyone travelling while it is on, to stay safe.

Frank Bird, one of Highways England’s emergency planning officers, said:

Along with the rest of the country, we’ll be cheering on England! We want them to bring it home – and we want everyone on our roads to get home safely.

When England played Columbia we noticed traffic levels drop by about a third so we’re anticipating similar on Wednesday.

If you’re on the road – please drive safely and keep your focus on the journey. And then we look forward to doing it all again on Sunday!

England motorways and major A roads normally carry 4 million journeys a day.

And two of them could have a strange connection to the World Cup!

The M66 and M18 are exactly 52 miles apart – the same as the number of years since England last won the World Cup.

The M18 also opened the year after England’s 1966 win and has seven junctions, which happens to be the number of matches England will have played if we reach the World Cup Final.

Meanwhile, make sure you don’t miss tomorrow’s kick-off by carrying out some simple vehicle checks to ensure your vehicle is fit for your journey and you get to your destination safely.

During the warm weather, make sure you have plenty of water on board, and while driving, look out for signs and signals, like Red Xs. These are shown above closed lanes – and may be protecting people who have stopped in a live lane, or keeping access open for emergency services going to their aid.

Highways England traffic officers will be working around the clock to help people who get into difficulty, but are urging motorists to:

• Check fuel: Make sure you have enough to get to your destination and don’t have to go off-side for more unexpectedly.
• Check tyres: check your tyre pressure and the condition of your tyres, including the spare. Look out for cuts or wear and make sure the tyres have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm, which is the legal limit.
• Check engine oil: Use your dipstick to check oil before any long journey, and top up if needed. Take your car back to the garage if you’re topping up more than usual.
• Check water: To ensure you have good visibility, always keep your screen wash topped up so you can clear debris or dirt off your windscreen.
• Don’t speed – there’s no need to be a-Russian to your destination, so take it easy and don’t Kane it.

For advice on how to drive on a smart motorway, please visit our web page.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

The Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The death of Peter Carrington at the age of 99 marks the end of an era and the loss of a statesman who was respected globally for his remarkable lifetime of public service.

There can be few people who have served our country for as long, and with such dedication, as Lord Carrington did – from his gallantry as a tank commander in the Second World War, for which he was awarded the Military Cross, to his service in Government under two Monarchs and six Prime Ministers, dating back to Winston Churchill.

He was a much loved and widely respected member of the House of Lords for nearly eight decades, and served with great honour and integrity in Government as Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary, Leader of the House of Lords, Chairman of the Conservative Party and much more besides. These were qualities that he also brought to bear as a highly esteemed Secretary General of NATO – and, in the week of the NATO Summit, I know that my fellow leaders will join me in offering our gratitude for his lifetime of service and our deepest condolences to his family.

More children across the country met the expected standard at the end of primary school this summer in English and mathematics, amid rising education standards in England, Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb announced today (Tuesday 10 July).

Figures published today show:

• 64 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in all of reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 2 nationally. This figure was 61 per cent in 2017;
• 75 per cent met the expected standard in reading, up 4 percentage points on last year;
• 78 per cent met the expected standard in writing. This figure was 76 per cent in 2017;
• 76 per cent met the expected standard in mathematics, up on 1 percentage point on last year; and
• 78 per cent met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling, up 1 percentage point on last year.

The new national curriculum and assessments have set a higher standard in schools and today’s rising results show more pupils are meeting that standard, thanks to the hard work of teachers and pupils, and government reforms.

This year’s results are the third to be released following the introduction of a more rigorous national curriculum assessments in Summer 2016, bringing primary education in line with the best in the world.

Standards are rising in primary schools. There are now 154,000 more six-year-olds on track to become fluent readers today than in 2012, in 2017 the attainment gap between disadvantaged primary pupils and their more affluent peers had narrowed by 10.5 per cent since 2011, and England’s rise up the international PIRLS rankings for literacy put the success of the government’s reforms on a global scale.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

A good primary education lays the foundations for success at secondary school and beyond. That’s why we introduced a more rigorous, knowledge-rich primary school curriculum – with an emphasis on reading and fluency in arithmetic – to ensure every child is helped to reach their potential from the moment they start school.

Today’s results and the rising standards we are seeing in our primary schools are the fruit of our reforms and a tribute to the hard work and dedication of teachers across the country. These reforms promise even more success in the years to come and will help to improve education for every child, no matter their background.

The government has invested in programmes to help raise standards in our primary schools, including a £26 million network of specialist English Hubs around the country to improve pupils’ literacy and £41 million to follow the same approach to teaching maths as world leading countries through the Shanghai Mastery for Maths programme. ‎This is on top of wider changes to the primary assessment system which will reduce unnecessary workload for teachers so they can focus on what really matters in the classroom.

Today’s figures build on the record 1.9 million more children now in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. The government is continuing to ensure all parents have a good school place on their doorstep, with the recent announcement of £680million to create 40,000 more good school places in primary and secondary schools. Since 2010, 825,000 new school places have been created, with recent analysis showing 91 per cent of those in 2016-17 were in good or outstanding schools.