Maintaining and enhancing trust is fundamental to the work of the Land Registry. We rely on many different relationships to deliver services successfully to the community. Our aim is to create partnerships of trust that help to give better service to all. We depend on our customers for feedback on the quality of our services and ideas on improvement. We listen carefully to them and seek solutions that help customers as well as achieve our objectives. We therefore have a number of communications channels, both formal and informal, helping us to maintain an open dialogue with our customers. The Land Registry has a dedicated Management and Customer Services Division that is responsible for planning and coordinating customer service.

A dedicated Information Counter has been established in our Customer Centre to handle enquiries and receive feedback from customers. A Customer Service Hotline has been set up to provide users with help desk support for using our new services. In response to customers' feedback on the use of IRIS system during IRIS launch, the Land Registrar issued an information note personally to update IRIS users on the progress and enhancements made in the first four weeks upon IRIS live-run. Common questions and answers on the use of the system were also provided to customers on the Internet for their easy reference.

At the launch of the IRIS on 12 February 2005, Land Registry staff and our customers needed time to adjust to the new system. However, with the commitment, teamwork and resource of our staff and the full cooperation of our business partners and customers, teething problems were resolved and the system has risen to the challenge of a substantial increase in business demand during its first months of operation.

When there were episodes of slow response of the system, frontline staff helped to deal with the exceptionally high volume of search demand. Management staff gave immediate assistance and solutions. Our staff are trained to address customers' concerns politely and provide every possible help to them. The positive attitude of staff enhances the trust between the Land Registry and its customers.

In the area of registration service, we have used the flexibility given by our new, multicounter service area to provide different service channels as demanded, help reducing customer waiting time. Each counter can provide one stop lodgement and fee paying services.