Jennifer Henderson, Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS) reflects on seven years at RoS and looks forward to shaping the next Corporate Plan and shares how you can get involved.
The video features an invitation from the Keeper to feed into Registers of Scotland's Corporate Plan 2027 - 2032
Reflecting on seven years of working together
When I became Keeper at RoS in 2018, I looked forward to working with customers, colleagues, and stakeholders to realise our vision of becoming a digital registration and information business.
Back in 2018, RoS had just launched its ScotLIS service for professional users, but we could still only accept registration applications on paper. Since then, working together, we’ve digitised our services, provided online citizen access to our information, continue to tackle long-standing casework, and embraced automation to make our processes smarter and more efficient.
Our workforce has evolved too, with upskilling and new opportunities helping us put the right people in the right places. We have underpinned this progress with robust financial management, controlling our costs to ensure we continue to keep our fees as low as possible.
All of this has enabled us to improve the service we deliver for the citizens of Scotland.
Our Corporate Plan: delivering for Scotland
The Corporate Plan runs in five-year cycles, each with clear objectives.
Every year, we set out an annual delivery plan detailing how we’ll achieve these goals, while our Annual Report and Accounts tracks our progress and our finances.
The current plan has been all about speeding up our service to customers. We’ve focused on clearing old casework and embedding sustainable ways to process new work quickly, accurately and efficiently.
By the end of March 2027, our aim is to have met our current strategic objectives and, most importantly, to deliver the fast, reliable service our customers expect.
Looking ahead: shaping the next plan
As we approach Delivery Year 5 of the current plan, it’s time to look forward. The next Corporate Plan (2027–2032) is our chance to set an ambitious new strategic priority and be clear on the activities that will get us there.
By the end of this financial year, I want to have defined the next set of strategic objectives, so that we have time to develop a comprehensive delivery plan and can hit the ground running in April 2027.
Our Mission endures
Our mission remains unchanged: to support the people of Scotland and underpin the Scottish economy by providing certainty around land, property, and legal documents. We do this by delivering the best possible public service as a registration and information business that is trusted for its integrity.
Your voice matters
Success depends on partnership and collaboration with our customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
We have identified a number of emerging key themes, such as improving experiences for customers, boosting efficiency and resilience, exploring automation and AI, and developing our people for the future.
I know that whatever we decide to focus on in our next corporate plan, we will need to work in partnership with you to deliver it – so I’m keen to hear from our customers and stakeholders on what our priorities should be and why.
This is just the beginning of our conversation about the next Corporate Plan. We’ll keep you updated over the next 18 months, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Please get involved and talk to us. We’ve set up a dedicated mailbox corporate.plan@ros.gov.uk for you to share your views - please send us your thoughts by 18th December.