WORKERS at the Land Registry who took strike action against privatisation hailed a major victory after sell-off plans were shelved yesterday.

The service, which controls records of all British property sales, has been regularly mooted for sale over the past six years.

In January the government announced a consultation on its plans to hive off the “service delivery” side of the practice to a new private company.

But the government published its response to the consultation yesterday, saying that concerns had been raised over data protection, the profit motive and the vagueness of the new model. 

The published report concluded that “further consideration would be valuable” and that “at this time, no decision has been taken to change Land Registry’s model.”

Civil servants’ union PCS greeted the news with cautious jubilation after fearing the worst when documents leaked earlier this year appeared to show ministers had made their mind up before consulting stakeholders.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwortka said: “This is hugely significant for our members and the industry professionals who ran a fantastic campaign and successfully exposed the emptiness of the government’s case.

“It is also a victory for businesses and the public who need the Land Registry to remain in state hands, free from any profit motive and conflict of interest.”

The consultation’s embarrassing results reveal that 91 per cent of respondents disagreed that an arm’s-length organisation would make the Land Registry “more efficient and effective.” Only 5 per cent agreed. 

Eighty-eight per cent thought the proposed checks and balances were inadequate, while 89 per cent said they were uncomfortable with non-civil servants processing land registration information.

Registrars walked out of their offices in May to oppose the sell-off — and found an unlikely ally in Blairite former Cabinet minister Alan Johnson, who plugged the strike in his regular slot on BBC1 politics show This Week.

Government insiders have suggested that Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable became wary of privatisation after unions and MPs slammed his handling of the Royal Mail sell-off. 

The post network was underpriced by an estimated £1 billion, a scathing MPs committee report found last week.