2020 - 2021

Introduction

The Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (QLTR) is the Crown’s representative in Scotland with authority to deal with property falling to the Crown by operation of law. This includes the land, assets and other rights of dissolved companies, the estates of individuals who die leaving no heirs, and treasure found in Scotland.

The post is held by the Crown Agent, David Harvie, who is supported in this role by a small department of 6 officials. The QLTR department is entirely selffunding. Its net receipts are paid over to the Scottish Consolidated Fund following deduction of its expenses and running costs.

This report sets out the QLTR department’s financial and operational performance for the year. The pandemic has had a significant impact on many aspects of public life throughout the year. We, and the National Ultimus Haeres Unit (which we fund), adjusted our operations as promptly as possible to ensure minimal disruption to our services. There has however been an impact on treasure trove.

We have also been working through the year on improving and reforming our services. We have been working with the major UK banks to move to digital banking transfers of bona vacantia funds. We are strengthening our links with other public authorities on decisions affecting land, and with HMRC and Revenue Scotland in cases involving poor corporate administration. We have also contributed to the research and work of the Scottish Land Commission on vacant and derelict land.

We recognise that the QLTR has a unique and important function in helping to tackle vacant and derelict land where there is a Crown interest. In the new financial year, we intend to work with the Scottish Government and other public bodies to explore how the QLTR might help further facilitate and enable decisions relating to such land for the public good. We will also be putting in place new property advice services to help inform and improve our decision making in this important area.

Aim and Objectives

The QLTR department works to achieve the effective administration of the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer’s functions so that public enquiries and transactions are dealt with promptly and appropriately.

Principal Activities

The QLTR department’s principal activities are:

• administering the property of individuals who die heirless by ingathering funds, paying debts, disposing of heritage and advertising where appropriate for blood relatives.
• dealing with land, assets and other rights falling to the Crown under the Companies Acts, the property of missing persons and land where an owner cannot be identified. The QLTR has a broad discretion when property falls to the Crown in this way. Where it is not viable to try to sell a particular asset, right or land, the QLTR may waive the Crown’s rights to it by a process known as “disclaiming” the Crown interest. When this happens, a notice is published in the Gazette and, for company property, is registered at Companies House.
• administering finds of treasure in Scotland, ingathering award payments and making payments to finders.

Financial Performance

The QLTR had net receipts from operations in 2020-21 of £5.6m (2019-20: £6.5m). Net receipts after all payments and administration costs were £5.1m (2019-20: £5.9m). In 2020-21, £4.6m was paid to the Scottish Consolidated Fund (SCF) (2019-20: £7.4m), of this £1.5m related to the previous year. The QLTR’s business is reactive and the receipts therefore vary from year to year.

The QLTR also operates a reserve in order to be able to meet claims for returns of funds and proceeds of sales of property by the QLTR. This can happen, for example, in cases where a company is restored to the register or where a legitimate claim is established to an individual’s estate. As a prudential measure, in light of the potential impact of the Covid pandemic, and looking ahead to the 2021-22 financial year, the reserve was increased from 1 January 2021 by £0.5m to £3m. This is being kept under review and gives the QLTR department greater financial facility to deal with potential increases in receipts and claims to heirless estates and potential rises in the number of company dissolutions and restoration applications.

Operational Performance

The Covid pandemic has required the QLTR department to work remotely for the duration of the financial year, with the majority of the department’s staff working permanently from home throughout. Despite this, the department has managed to keep its core operations and services running with minimum disruption.

The table below provides highlights of the QLTR department’s operational performance for the financial years 2019-20 to 2020-21:

The department’s total net receipts are comparable with the previous years’ figures. The difference between the two Scottish Consolidated Fund (SCF) payments is partly due to the £0.5m increase in our reserve (referred to in paragraph 9), and partly to our “cash accounting” financial model, where £1.5m paid in the first quarter of the 2019-20 financial year was originally due to be made in the final quarter of the 2018-19 financial year. To make comparisons easier in future years, we have since aligned our final quarter SCF payments so they are made within the relevant financial year.

However, in looking at comparisons, it should be borne in mind that, generally, the nature of QLTR’s business is reactive and relies on funds and cases being remitted and reported to the QLTR department. This is also the case for finds of treasure, reported to the Treasure Trove Unit (“TTU”) and for heirless estate cases referred to the QLTR by the National Ultimus Haeres Unit (“NUHU”).

This year’s figures for treasure trove and heirless estates reflect the impact of the pandemic on both TTU and NUHU’s operations.

In the case of TTU, the Scottish Government’s restrictions on movement and travel have had a significant impact. It was not possible during large parts of the financial year for significant excavation work to be carried out and National Museums Scotland, where the Treasure Trove Unit are based, has been closed to the public for most of the financial year.

TTU has therefore not been able to receive and process finds or report new cases to the QLTR department in the financial year. The payment figures represent treasure trove cases reported in the previous financial year but processed in this financial year.

In NUHUs case, the team did see an increase in the number of deaths reported during the pandemic, however this did not in turn result in a rise in the number of heirless estates referred to the QLTR department compared with the previous year. This was due to a number of improvements made by NUHU over the year, working in partnership with other Scottish public sector organisations to assist with finding next of kin.

Key Risk

The main financial risk for the QLTR relates to having sufficient funds available to settle claims in the financial year. The arrangements to mitigate this are detailed below.

For estates of individuals who die heirless, the QLTR will hold the estate realised for 5 years after administration has been completed. That is based upon the department’s experience that the estates are very often claimed within that period as genealogists trace relatives in return for a share of the estate. A claim after more than 5 years is rare. Only after that period has expired without a claim would the estate held be included in what is handed over to the SCF.

To cover the possibility of claims being brought beyond those 5 years, and to cover the possibility of claims being brought in any financial year in respect of any other matter the QLTR may deal with, the QLTR retains a reserve of accrued resources of £3m. By way of example, if a dissolved company is restored to the Companies Register then the QLTR would repay such sums that are held from its bank account. The amount paid over to the SCF after each quarter end is therefore the excess over the £3m balance.

The QLTR has no financial liabilities arising from finds of treasure. Where finds are allocated to a museum, the amount paid to the finder is found by the museum itself. The QLTR’s role in this regard is limited to acting as the conduit for passing the funds to the finder.

Payment policy

The QLTR requires that all suppliers’ invoices not in dispute are paid within the terms of the relevant contract. We aim to have 100% of invoices, including disputed invoices once the dispute has been settled, paid on time in these terms. Moreover, the Scottish Government has set a 30 day payment performance target with an aspiration to pay within 10 working days of receipt. Suppliers' invoices are paid by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service which then recharges the QLTR (see Note 5). In 2020-21, performance against the 30 day target was 97% (2019-20: 99%). The QLTR aspires to pay all undisputed invoices within 10 days. During 2020-21, the QLTR paid 97% within the 10 day aspiration period (2019-20: 95%). In 2020-21, in line with the government policy, no interest was paid under the terms of the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act.

Environmental and Sustainability

The QLTR rents office space at Victoria Quay from the Scottish Government, which adheres to the Scottish Government environmental policies applicable to the office.

Remuneration and staff report

Employment Policies

The QLTR does not employ staff directly. All staff are seconded to QLTR from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

The QLTR department does not have its own policies on the employment of people with disabilities, staff relations or equal opportunities but follows the practices in force in COPFS. These are set out in the annual report and accounts of COPFS which can be found on the COPFS website. 

Remuneration

Staff who are seconded to the QLTR department are paid at the rates in force for COPFS during the time of their secondments.