Task  (taken from Action Plan)

Officer

Date due

Date completed

Progress to date / Reasons for any delays

Revised completion date

Policy and Strategy

1. Develop a policy and strategy for the Land Charges Service.

HP

March 2001

The Policy and Strategy document will form a major part of the Legal and Land Charges Business Plan, which will be drafted shortly.

30 August

2002

2. Monitor progress of GIS consultant and consider further action following his final report.

SM

March 2001

Mrs S Markham is a member of the GIS Project Group, and close monitoring of the system’s progress is taking place.

The future requirements of Local Charges to link into the Corporate GIS are under consideration as part of the overall specification and tender process.

On-going

3. Monitor developments in IT and develop a strategy for investigating, purchasing and using new technologies

HP/SM

March 2001

An IT Strategy will form part of the Legal and Land Charges Business Plan, and thus will be reviewed as part of the GIS implementation.  

30 August

2002

4. Monitor and maintain awareness of developments in LGA/IDeA work programme

(NILIS)

HP

March 2001

CDC is already a Level 1 Authority and have just received a Level 2 Start Pack.  Some searches requested have already been received electronically.  Further development will follow in due course.

30 Sept

2001 and

on-going

5. Develop means of assessing current and future market trends and demands on the service as an aid to controlling budgetary estimates

HP

31 Dec 2001

Ongoing

Monthly monitoring in place but future trends difficult to assess.  Land charges are a predictor of the economy rather than a result

In place

6.  Develop a robust financial strategy for the determination of fees which can withstand scrutiny and criticism, and review the level and structure of the fees charges for the service.

HP

31 Dec 2001

Ongoing

Fees increased in 2002/3 budget.  Need to review when NILIS phase 2 is in operation

Ongoing

Management

7. Re-instate team meetings

HP/SM/PH

October 2000

Done

Team meetings have been re-instated.  These are held monthly, and alternate between mornings and afternoons to ensure that each member of Local Land Charges has the opportunity to attend.

Done

8. Clearly define role of Legal Manager and Principal Solicitors in relation to management of the Land Charges Section.

HP

March 2001

Done

Done

Done

9. Review job descriptions of whole section to clarify roles and responsibilities to assess if work is being done beyond that required by job descriptions.

HP

March 2001

June 2002

Appraisals completed.   JD’s to be updated.

Not done yet

December 2002

10. Assess operation of paid over-time during busy periods

HP/SM/PH

Dec 2000

Done

Done

11. Use policy and strategy to set targets and develop clear individual and team objectives

HP

June 2001

Done

Clear individual objectives set as part of annual appraisal process.

Done

12. Develop a system to utilise feedback from staff more fully to improve service

HP/SM/PH

Sept 2001

Done

Monthly Management meetings for Legal and Land Charges section are beginning to provide feedback, which is helpful to improve service.

Done

13.  Transferable skills need to be developed and an allowance for training time included in the overall assessment of time needs to process searches

HP/SM/PH

2002/03

Ongoing – Training Plans done

Ongoing

14. Formalise training and development opportunities for self-learning. Monitor improvements in service following staff training and development

HP.PH/SM

2002/03

Ongoing – Training Plans done

Ongoing

Service Delivery

15. Provide opportunities for house keeping tasks

HP/SM/PH

March 2001

Done

Work up to date

Done

16. Investigate the feasibility and likely uptake of an Express Search service and explore different levels of charging for such a service

HP

2001/02

September 2002

This facility needs reviewing in the light of the NILIS project.

Review finds no demand for this

Done

17. Develop a proactive approach to equipment maintenance and procurement to ensure effective delivery of the service and the promotion of higher staff morale

HP

30 Sept 2001

Done

Done

Done

18. Develop a disaster recovery plan

HP

Sept 2001

Sept 2002

The Disaster Recovery Plan will be referred to in the Business Plan. Technological developments will be an important part of this.

30 Sept

2002

19. Devise a plan to improve links with partners and stakeholders, including establishing formal communication links to ensure the continued effectiveness and improvement of the service

HP

2001/02

NILIS development will help this

20. Explore the development of closer working relationships with SBDC to achieve enhancement of the service

HP

2001/02

21. Establish / ascertain procedures with partnership departments to ensure accuracy / efficiency

HP/SM/PH

2001/02

22. Consider the impact of Title Indemnity Insurance

HP

31 Dec 2002

Performance

23. Introduce new local PI to be collected from 1 April 2001.

SM/PH

March 2001

Introduced from 1.04.01.

The Local Performance Indicator of 80% of searches completed within 7 working days has been introduced.

Done

24. Establish KPI for partner turnaround

HP

Sept 2001

The establishment of Key Performance Indicators for partners turnaround will be included in the Business Plan.

Sept 2002

Benchmarking

25. Carry out and annual survey of the authorities surveys in the review benchmarking exercise

SM/HP

2001/02

Not done yet – resource issue

Consultation

26.  Circulate an annual newsletter in Feb / March to solicitors and personal search agencies updating them on developments and changes on the fees

SM/PH

Feb 2002

February 2002

Fee notification done but not as a newsletter

Partly done

27. Carry out bi-annual customer satisfaction survey of regular users, based on survey carried out in 2000

SM/PH

June 2002

September 2002

Currently being planned/reconsidered