My second month as Keeper has been another eventful one, as I’ve continued to work closely with colleagues, customers and stakeholders to support ongoing work, progress with our digital transformation and plan what’s next for RoS.
Putting a face to the Keeper
As I mentioned in my last blog, May was all about getting out and meeting people, so that the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland is more than just a non-ministerial office holder in the Scottish Administration, but a person too! To name just a few events, during the month I’ve met with:
- Fellow civil servants from across other parts of the Scottish Government
- Stakeholders and customers from across a range of sectors, including solicitors, lenders and searchers
- Internal teams, such as Registration and Information & Analysis
- Organisational bodies like Ordnance Survey and our audit committee, plus my first meeting of the RoS Board of Directors
All these meetings continue to build my understanding of RoS as an organisation, our processes and our customers, and how I can make a positive contribution as the new Keeper; ensuring RoS is an effective organisation for customers and staff alike. I’m looking forward to continuing to meet with more stakeholders moving forward, particularly when I speak at Law Society of Scotland’s It’s the Law conference on 26th June.
Welcoming the Permanent Secretary to SVP
A big highlight in May was hosting Leslie Evans, the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government. As you may know, she’s the principal policy advisor to the First Minster, and Secretary to the Scottish Cabinet, so being able to showcase RoS – its people, its working environment and its services – was a fantastic opportunity. We discussed a number of our successful digital products and services, including ScotLIS and the Digital Discharge Service, as well as increased digital collaboration between RoS and various other SG bodies.
Increasing equality
As a civil servant, I was honoured to receive an award from the Women in Defence UK organisation in November 2017, for my work in my previous role to improve gender balance in the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. As an opportunity to share my work in this area, I was invited to address the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Science and Technology committee session in Warsaw. It was a huge privilege to address such a prestigious event; equality is something I feel passionate about, and I will look to continue to promote as Keeper.
And finally, in a further development this month – I’ve started tweeting! You can follow me for all the latest updates @RoSKeeper