Is this Scotland’s WORST quango?
• Backlog of 100,000 cases, some 5 years old • Staff get SHORTER week and many WFH • Bumper pay rises ... with chief on £160k
A SCOTS quango has come under fire after reporting its worst-ever performance – while handing out pay rises to bosses and allowing staff to work fewer hours.
Registers of Scotland (RoS) is a taxpayerfunded government body that logs official papers needed for many types of transactions – including house and property sales.
Last week the organisation revealed it is struggling to process an unprecedented backlog of more than 100,000 cases, some of which date back more than five years.
The delays can cause issues for owners trying to sell or remortgage their homes.
However, despite the huge backlog, staff have been allowed to pioneer a shorter working week. Chief executive Jennifer Henderson recently boasted: ‘We’ve implemented a 36-hour week and this change has been positively received by colleagues.’
Latest accounts also show bosses at the quango have received large pay rises. Ms Henderson’s salary package was worth between £155,000-£160,000 in 2020/21 – an increase from £130,000-£135,000 in 2019/20.
Last night critics attacked the performance of the quango while warning the pay rises and shorter hours were symptomatic of the public sector failing to deliver good value for taxpayers in Scotland.
Danielle Boxall, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘With the tax burden at a 70-year high, government agencies have a duty to improve the bang for taxpayers’ buck.
‘The Registers of Scotland must get to grips with cutting its towering backlog and pursue value for money for taxpayers.’
Last week, RoS revealed it had 105,638 land registrations waiting to be processed – some dating back to January 2017 – more than double the previous backlog. The news came as Ms Henderson, who apologised for the delays and pledged to turn them around after taking over in 2018, told MSPs that RoS were now ‘one of a few public sector organisations’ to introduce a reduced 36-hour working week and that most of her staff were continuing to work a hybrid system between home and office.
The body’s annual report also showed she and fellow board members were awarded salary rises of between £5,000 to £10,000 each.
Latest figures show the agency’s escalating arrears for registering properties includes 4,794 cases outstanding from 2017, together with 18,991 from 2018, 24,739 from 2019, and 26,530 from 2020.
Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative Covid Recovery spokesman, said: ‘These figures are astonishing and clearly point to a backlog that has spiralled out of control.
‘Those individuals waiting for title deeds will find it galling staff have been awarded significant pay rises and are still working from home.
‘These issues predate the pandemic. The public must finally see leadership to tackle these cases.’
Until the registration is complete, people can experience difficulties in remortgaging while complications can also arise if they try to sell the property while the process is incomplete.
Solicitor Austin Lafferty said: ‘I am very disappointed in the performance of Registers of Scotland.
‘Even I, as a relatively small practitioner, have several transactions stuck in the system.
‘There is no reasonable explanation over what has gone wrong or when I am likely to get my client’s registration. Some of these have been in the system so long they have been sold again without title being issued. It is a disgrace.’
Yesterday, an RoS spokesman said the ‘vast majority’ of applications are processed in 20 days.
He added: ‘Any open applications carry no risk to customers.
‘Registration backdates to when we receive the application. Homeowners are not restricted from selling, remortgaging or making changes to their land or property whilst the application is open.’
‘The backlog has clearly spiralled out of control’