Data required for LVT
Garbage in, garbage out.
Valid information cannot be extracted from invalid or incomplete data.
Many government computer systems are pretty good: DVLA, HMRC, Passport Office.
However, some, including the Land Registry (HMLR) and Companies House, suffer from four major problems:
Mountains of historical paper records.
Inadequate digitisation of data. In some cases they still accept data filed on paper.
Failure to validate key data.
Secrecy and obscurantism.
Note: “digitised” means the data is in a form that allows it to be searched. For example: “find all the companies in which Richard Rodney Prufrock holds shares.” (This is not possible!)
In theory Companies House displays the names of company directors. In theory it is also possible to find which other directorships an individual holds.
In practice this is not the case because the identity of a director is not validated. For example “Richard Rodney Prufrock” may be listed as a director of company X A search under that name will reveal other directorships he holds but it will miss those where he is listed as “Richard Prufrock”.
In most cases this is not deliberate, people sometimes use their middle name, sometimes they don’t. The author of this page is listed by Companies House under two different names - with and without his middle name!
It is not possible to find digital records of company shareholders. The best that can be done is to look at “Confirmation statements” (scanned but not digitised documents) which may or may not contain lists of shareholders.
Validating data
Uniqueness is the key to data validity.
A director, shareholder or freeholder must be a unique person with a unique identity.
A company, or a piece of freehold land, must have a unique identity. This is the case now.
We don’t have ID cards in the UK - Tony Blair tried and failed because people (including the author of this page) objected - “I am not a number! I am a free man! I refuse to carry a card - we are not a police state!” (Blair is still trying!)
However, we do have a unique ID - our National Insurance number! Failing that, most of us have a passport which we drag out for holidays or for business trips - that contains a unique ID.
So, linking a director, shareholder or freeholder to a unique ID is not difficult - but, at the moment, it is not done! Companies House has now started the process of identity validation.
Secrecy and obscurantism
An open society requires open data with free and and open access.
Company financial data held at Companies House is publicly and freely available - but not digitised. The data is “validated” only so far as it is signed off by the company’s auditors.
The names of directors and shareholders on Companies House are public - there are no privacy restrictions other than the contact address need not be the person’s private dwelling - it could be the company address or the accountant’s address.
Secrecy means the data is not open to the public. HMRC keeps secret details of trustees and beneficiaries of some trusts. Why? Another reason why trusts should be abolished and converted into companies.
Obscurantism means barriers to data.
HMLR provides details of freehold titles which sometimes list the freeholders. However, the data is not digitised and it is chargeable: £7 per title, £11 per plan of the land.
HMLR does provide bulk digital data showing freehold boundaries with links to the titles and plans (which may then be purchased.)
Viewing this data requires a chargeable licence from Ordnance Survey and a chargeable app to display the data. Parish Online is an example but it’s cost varies depending on the size of the organisation using it. The author lives in a tiny, almost invisible, parish - so he has a copy at the lowest possible cost - and it is excellent!
Data for land
It must be possible to obtain free answers to questions such as:
Who is the freeholder for this land?
What is the type of freeholder?
UK citizen resident in the UK.
UK citizen not resident in the UK.
Non-UK citizen resident in the UK.
Non-UK citizen not resident in the UK.
Company registered in the UK with UK shareholders only.
Company registered in the UK with non UK shareholders.
Company registered outside the UK.
Trust registered in the UK with UK beneficiaries only.
Trust registered in the UK with non UK beneficiaries.
Trust registered outside the UK.
etc.
What is the status of this land?
Agriculture.
Notified for SHELAA: Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment.
Hope.
Zoned.
Planning permission applied for.
Planning permission granted.
Development started,.
Dwelling,.
Business.
Inalienable - cannot be sold and with no commercial use.
Inalienable - cannot be sold and with commercial use.
etc.
What is the current open market value of this land given its current status?
What LVT is due on this land?
Which local authority covers this land?
What other land does this freeholder hold?
By far the easiest way to do this is with a freely available online cadastral map - “click the map to see the data.”
Suggestion for data required
Unique freehold id
From Land Registry title number.
Note: LVT is not concerned with leasehold titles held by the Land Registry.
Freehold name
From Land Registry property address.
Location: latitude, longitude.
Freehold boundaries
Suitable format for GIS from Land Registry data.
Land value
Sum of individual property land values.
This is the amount that will be subject to the standard LVT rate and any national supplement.
Freeholders
From Land Registry: maximum of four freeholders responsible for paying LVT.
Unique freeholder id
Name
Address
Country
To enable any national supplement to the standard LVT rate.
Email address
Unique HMRC id
Type
Individual, company, trust, etc.
Percentage share of freehold
Properties
The identification of properties within a freehold is necessary to provide Local Authorities with the option to add local supplements to the standard LVT rate.
Unlimited number of properties within the freehold.
A property may consist of land only or land plus buildings.
The sum of areas covered by the properties must cover the whole area of the freehold.
Unique property id
Location: latitude, longitude.
Boundaries
Suitable format for GIS.
Property name
Property address
Type
Agriculture, principle residence, second home, holiday let, manufacturing plant, warehouse, offices, retail outlet, community asset, etc.
Local Authority
Required if the property is in England.
Land value
