Slough Borough Council this week became the first local authority to launch a fully integrated electronic service that aims to speed significantly the local land search process for conveyancing solicitors.

The service will link all council departments to one another and to the National Land Information Service (NLIS) hub, enabling Slough to respond to requests electronically.


The costs of launching the service were met by NLIS's local authority modernisation programme (LAMP), a managed service provided by IT company MacDonald Dettwiler. Slough will pay a monthly fee for using the service.


The project will convert large volumes of paper into electronic format and will link back-office systems.


The modernisation programme is also under way in Liverpool, Telford & Wrekin, South Norfolk, Canterbury and Sandwell councils. Under a government target, all local authorities should provide electronic searches by 2005.


Denis Cameron, chairman of the Law Society's conveyancing and land law committee, said: 'I welcome anything that speeds up the search process, and all local authorities will have to move to this form of delivery as soon as possible if home information packs come into being.


'But I have concerns over the amount that some local authorities are charging for providing searches.'


John Thornton, director of e-government at the Improvement and Development Agency, said: 'NLIS is one of the best examples of e-government and joined-up government in action. The NLIS LAMP programme enables authorities to deliver a fully automated, on-line land and property service, while improving services for the public and improving efficiency internally.'