Fee proposals for registers introduced by the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act
Feedback updated 17 Dec 2024
We asked
We sought views on the fee proposals for the operation of the two new registers introduced by the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 - the Register of Assignations (“RoA”) and the Register of Statutory Pledges (“RSP”). The consultation opened on the 8 July 2024 and closed on 16 September 2024.
You said
There were 14 responses to the consultation from individuals (21%) and organisations (79%).
An overwhelming majority of respondents (86%) were either dissatisfied or strongly dissatisfied by the consultation’s key proposals regarding RoA and RSP registration fees, with respondents’ viewing these as prohibitively high and excessive to the extent that the legal reforms intended by the Act could be negatively impacted.
Additionally, over half of the respondents identified that the proposal for an £80 registration fee to be charged for each statutory pledge would compound the negative effect of what was already considered to be an excessive fee by charging for each individual statutory pledge (over individual assets or groups of assets) contained within a single document - in other words, a “reduced fee for multiples” fee model was required for the RSP.
We did
The consultation’s registration fee proposals were based on cost-recovery, with registration volumes being estimated from detailed user research undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders, industry experts and academics over several years. Despite this level of engagement, it proved extremely difficult for Registers of Scotland (RoS) to obtain accurate estimates of volumes for the new registers. Accordingly, the RoS estimates of volumes which informed the proposed registration fees were necessarily cautious.
The consultation responses indicated that the consultation had the effect of focussing the minds of stakeholders, particularly around the requirement for a “reduced fee for multiples” fee model for the RSP. This prompted further engagement with stakeholders, including with a majority of consultation respondents, and that allowed more informed assumptions on likely usage for the new registers to be developed.
Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
The Scottish Parliament passed the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 on 4 May 2023, with it receiving Royal Assent on 13 June 2023. This consultation contains details of the proposed statutory fee structure for the operation of the two new registers proposed by the Act and of the basis on which these are proposed. Views are sought on all of these proposals.
Registers of Scotland is also committed to consulting its customers on any changes affecting the provisions of its services and also on any introduction of new, or changes to existing, fees.
The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
A analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Registers of Scotland website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us. You can also join our consulation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).
What happens next
Responses to this consultation will help shape the statutory fee structure.
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