To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to extend registration of title under the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 to further areas of Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The former Minister for Home Affairs at the Scottish Office made an order on 14 March 1992 making the county of Clackmannan an operational area for the registration of title in the land register of Scotland with effect from 1 October 1992. This is the first stage in the implementation of a revised programme proposed by the keeper of the registers to extend the land register to cover the remaining counties of Scotland, to which I recently gave my approval. The progressive extension of land registration will bring the benefits of guaranteed title and quicker and streamlined conveyancing practices to the whole of Scotland.