RoS welcomes new Keeper

April 2018 was a milestone day for RoS as Jennifer Henderson assumed the position of Keeper of the Registers of Scotland.

Jennifer succeeds Sheenagh Adams, who held the post since 2009. Sheenagh’s tenure witnessed some of the most dynamic change in the history of the Registers. This includes the implementation of the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Act 2012, a “once in a generation” overhaul of the statutory framework within which RoS operates. 2017 was another landmark year, as we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the General Register of Sasines, rolled out the Digital Discharge Service, and launched ScotLIS, Scotland’s Land Information Service.

Jennifer has been with the Civil Service since 1994, and most recently has been on a six-month loan as a deputy director at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. While there she developed the department’s business plan, and previously supported the initial phase of the Building Safety Programme established in response to the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Prior to that, she was a member of the executive team at the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, as operations director and then as transformation director, ensuring that innovative science and technology contributes to the defence and security of the UK.

Following the announcement, Jennifer commented: “I am delighted to be joining Registers of Scotland at such an exciting time for the organisation. RoS’s vision to become a fully digital business by 2020 is ambitious, and the team have already made great progress on this journey. I’m really looking forward to leading the team at RoS through its transformation into our digital future.”

Digital Regulations: first changes in force

Following their approval by the Scottish Parliament, the Registers of Scotland (Digital Registration etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 came into force on 12 March 2018. The regulations will facilitate the introduction of new digital services by RoS, and also provide for a presumption in favour of the use of these digital channels.

RoS has already made progress based on the new statutes, with the introduction of the streamlined land registration application form. Key amongst the improvements is the removal of a signature requirement on the application form. The new form came into effect on 21 March, and is specifically designed to reduce rejections and increase efficiency. More information on the form can be found on the RoS Knowledge Base at kb.ros.gov.uk