By Legal Futures Assocaite Land Data
Local Land Charges (LLC) teams at 69 local authorities have been recognised in nine shortlists for the annual Land Data Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence, the only awards to recognise outstanding performance in the profession. The winning and highly commended local authorities will be announced on the 4th March at a gala dinner at the Local Land Charges Training and Development Event 2024, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport. A total of 169 nominations and entries were received for the 2024 awards across all categories.
The awards celebrate a range of performance areas and skill sets, from Local Authority Searches Team of the Year, which is entered online by LLC teams themselves and assessed by the awards judging panel, to the new Best Migrated Local Authority which is judged by HM Land Registry using live data from its platform.
Fiona Barron, Land Data’s Chief Executive, and one of the award judges said:
“This year’s entries show that, despite the extremely difficult financial conditions for Local Authorities up and down the country, staff remain resilient, committed and proud of the service they provide to residents. The shortlisted teams and individuals are the unsung heroes of the home moving process, delivering conveyancing searches at the highest standard as quickly as possible so that residents are able to move home with confidence.”
The shortlists
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
Best Migrated Local Authority – supported by HM Land Registry
This award is for Local Authorities who have already migrated their Local Land Charges Register to HM Land Registry. It celebrates outstanding management of the Register and good communication with HM Land Registry, helping property buyers to achieve the best outcomes. The judges use live data from the HM Land Registry platform to rank LLC departments based on key performance criteria, including time taken to register new charges and accuracy of entries. The judges analysed data from Local Authorities who have been in live service for at least 6 months, during the period 1st February 2023 – 31st January 2024.
- Caerphilly County Borough Council
- City of Lincoln Council
- Hambleton District Council (Part of North Yorkshire Council)
- Harborough District Council
- Mid Sussex District Council
- Newark & Sherwood District Council
- Sevenoaks District Council
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- West Lindsey District Council
- West Suffolk District Council
Best Performing Searches Team Member – supported by SearchFlow
This award recognises outstanding staff members who have gone above and beyond expectations, showing diligence, creativity, proactivity and great teamworking skills.
- Andrea Ferguson – Burnley Borough Council
- Angela Price – Sandwell Council
- Chrissie Warn – Greater Cambridge Shared Planning
- Emma Langton – West Lancashire Borough Council
- Evie Ward – Watford Borough Council
- Jayne Pike – Gravesham Borough Council
- Josh Taylor – Charnwood Borough Council
- Lesley French – Hillingdon London Borough Council
- Maxine Kidd – Sandwell Council
- Michaela Salter – Cotswold District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, Forest of Dean District Council
Customer Satisfaction Award for Local Authority Searches – supported by The Coal Authority.
For this category, there are four separate awards – one for District Councils, one for Metropolitan Councils, one for Unitary Councils and one for London Boroughs. Land Data asks solicitors and licensed conveyancers to nominate and provide feedback on the Local Authority LLC teams that they believe are committed to delivering a consistently high level of customer service. Voters are asked to consider quality, efficiency, reliability and value for money. Search accuracy, overdue searches and volumes are also considered and weighted against the number of private dwellings within the LA district.
Best in District Councils
- Arun District Council
- Ashford Borough Council
- Charnwood Borough Council
- East Suffolk Council
- Gravesham Borough Council
- Preston City Council
- Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
- Tendring District Council
- West Devon District Council
- West Lindsey District Council
Best in Unitary Councils
- Cardiff Council
- Medway Council
- Nottingham City Council
- Swansea Council
Best in Metropolitan Borough Councils
- Birmingham City Council
- Dudley Borough Council
- Gateshead Borough Council
- Sunderland City Council
- Wakefield Council
Best in London Borough Councils
- Barnet London Borough Council
- Westminster City Council
- Croydon London Borough Council
- Harrow London Borough Council
- Hillingdon London Borough Council
Local Authority Searches Team of the Year – supported by the Local Land Charges Institute
This team Award recognises the hard work and dedication made by Local Land Charges teams. The criteria focus on how teams have worked collaboratively to overcome challenges, become more efficient, and deliver excellent customer service.
- Castle Point District Council
- Greater Cambridge Planning Service
- Havering London Borough Council
- Leicester City Council
- Milton Keynes City Council
- Preston City Council
- Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- South Norfolk Council
- Wealden District Council
- West Lindsey District Council
The Unsung Hero Award – supported by the National Land Information Service (NLIS) Hub
The Unsung Hero Award is voted for by the NLIS Hub helpdesk team who nominates an individual or a team that they feel consistently makes an extra effort to work with them to make the search process as seamless as possible. The helpdesk team will give examples of how the Local Land Charges team (or a person within the team) shines and impresses them.
- Denise Durham – Barnet London Borough Council
- Jaki Molyneux – Trafford Borough Council
- Jane Callaghan – Wirral Council
- Hayley Ayris – Havering London Borough Council
- Kay Boucker – City of Wolverhampton Council
- LLC team – Leicester City Council
- Robin O’Brien – Leicester City Council
- Sarah Howard – Torbay Council
- LLC team – Westminster City Council
- Yvonne Wood – Newcastle City Council
Best Performing NLIS Level 2 Local Land Charges Department – supported by the National Land Information Service (NLIS)
This award category recognises the best performing Local Land Charges Department operating at NLIS level 2, between October 1st 2022, and September 30th 2023. Judges use NLIS Hub data to determine electronic turnaround times, the level of overdue searches, search accuracy and volumes, which are weighted against transactional volumes for the authority’s area.
- Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council
- Bromley London Borough Council
- Lambeth London Borough Council
- Lewisham London Borough Council
- Manchester City Council
- North Devon District Council
- Rutland County Council
- Somerset West and Taunton Council
- Wandsworth London Borough Council
- Wokingham District Council
Best Performing NLIS Level 3 Local Land Charges Department – supported by the National Land Information Service (NLIS)
This award category recognises the best performing Local Land Charges Department operating at NLIS level 3, between October 1st 2022 and September 30th 2023. Judges use NLIS Hub data to determine electronic turnaround times, the level of overdue searches, search accuracy and volumes, which are weighted against transactional volumes for the authority’s area.
- Barnet London Borough Council
- Brighton & Hove Council
- Cardiff Council
- Haringey London Borough Council
- Richmond-Upon-Thames London Borough Council
- Southend-On-Sea Borough Council
- Sutton London Borough Council
- Westminster City Council
- Windsor & Maidenhead Royal Borough Council
- York City Council
