The Isle of Man's General Registry is to be restructured from April 1 this year as part of Government's ongoing programme to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services provided to the public.
The changes include: the transfer of Land, Deeds, and Civil registries, Charities register and the Public Record Office to the Department of Economic Development, where they will merge with the Companies Registry to form a new Central Registry.
Legal Aid administration moves to the Social Security Division of the Treasury; safeguards will be in place to ensure the continued independence of decision making on the granting of legal aid. The Courts and Tribunals Service, which provides support to the judiciary, remains with General Registry.
No compulsory redundancies are proposed as a consequence of the restructuring. Longer term it is anticipated that bringing the registries together will make better use of buildings and IT systems and generate savings while enhancing services to customers.
Policy and Reform Minister John Shimmin MHK explained:
'The restructuring of the General Registry will see the transfer out of its non-judicial support functions leaving the Courts and Tribunals Service to focus on supporting the independent judicial process and enhancing the high international reputation of the Island's courts.
'The new Central Registry in the Department of Economic Development will bring costs savings and improvements in providing essential registry services to the public and business community.'
