The Treasury has created a new £26m fund to help councils migrate their local land charges service to HM Land Registry.

It said the new national service would deliver a faster property search service for homebuyers in England and Wales.

All local authorities who migrate their LLC service to the central register will qualify for a payment when they meet their scheduled milestones.

Karina Singh, HM Land Registry director of transformation, said: 'We understand the uncertain economic landscape facing many local authorities and the resourcing issues this creates. In the UK, property remains one of the single largest investments many people make. We want to help buyers get the information they need, in a faster and simpler manner.

'Research suggests that 6% of property transactions fail, costing between £700 and £2,700 per transaction. By enabling earlier access to LLC information these costs should reduce, making the conveyancing process better for all parties.'

The Treasury is aiming to migrate all local authorities in England and Wales onto the central register by 2025.