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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2006-06 > 1149705063


From: "jackycooper.clav78" <>
Subject: Re Access to registers
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 19:31:03 +0100


I got quite hopeful a while back, having heard that reform was being proposed about access to registers - but I guess getting an extortionate £8 (with regular increases) from family historians for every certificate is too tempting for the General Register Office to give up. A friend of mine (who was hoping to carry out a serious research project and needed information from the actual entries) got the up to date position on this from the GRO so am passing on for the info of listers. It is quite disgraceful that bona fide researchers doing projects on, for instance, epidemics, cannot get access to the data contained only within these records unless they pay £8 a time. My friend is trying to get the British Association for Local History to pursue the matter, but individual historians can also write to their MPs, the GRO, the National Archives, etc if they feel strongly:
Jacky Cooper

Re access to records in custody of local registrars:

The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 and
the Marriage Act 1949 are specific about the manner in which registration
information is accessed. The Acts require the superintendent registrar (and
the Registrar General) to produce indexes of all records that they hold.
Anyone is entitled to search the indexes and purchase a copy of a
certificate of any register entry of a birth, death or marriage certificate
on payment of the statutory fee. Registration information, unless provided
for in other law, cannot be disclosed in any other way. Therefore the
superintendent registrar is acting within the confines of the current legislation by refusing access to the registers.
The legislation does not provide for any discretion.


Re proposals to change the law:

The White Paper 'Civil Registration: Vital Change' published in January
2002 proposed a raft of changes including the introduction of a new
framework for accessing civil registration records. The proposal
distinguished between modern and historic records. With modern records
(those relating to people born less than 100 years ago) the majority of the
registration information was to be made available and more accessible. With
the historic records it was proposed that records for people born over 100
years ago, whether living or deceased, would be made fully available,
without the need to purchase certificates and without access restrictions,
although there may have been a charge to access the information. It was
also intended that the information be made available in electronic form.

The legislative route for making the changes described above was an Order
made under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. A draft Order was presented in
July 2004 but in December 2004 the Regulatory Reform Committees that
scrutinise the orders reported that the proposed changes were too large and
complex to be taken forward by means of a Regulatory Reform Order.

Following the decision made by the Regulatory Reform Committees the
Government announced that it remains committed to the modernisation of the
local registration service in England and Wales. In this respect the
Government has been considering how it can take forward the modernisation
reforms in other ways. However, many of the changes, including that of the
proposed new access framework will require primary legislation, the
Government will keep under review the need for legislation on this and
other aspects of civil registration.

Other changes can and are being progressed under existing legislation. A
web based system is being introduced to enable registrars to enter details
of birth, still-birth and death registrations on-line and allow local
printing of individual register pages and certificates.


Re Digitisation of older registers

GRO has embarked on a project to digitise all birth, death and
marriage records dating back to 1837 in order to build a computerised,
central database. However, access to the information will still be via the
purchase of a certificate. Below a timeline for the
digitisation project:

October 2005 Go Live date for microfilm scanning
January 2006 First sub block delivered to GRO for Quality
Assurance
May 2006 50% of Historic Birth records completed
July 2006 Balance of Historic Birth records completed
October 2006 Historic Death records completed
May 2007 Modern Birth records completed
September 2007 Modern Death records completed
December 2007 Historic Marriage records completed
May 2008 Modern Marriage records and Still Birth records completed

DoVE Project Update

It is anticipated that the project will be completed in the summer of 2008
but regular bulletins on digitisation of records will be provided on the
GRO website to keep customers updated on the progress of the project.
Further information can be found at
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/aboutus/lookingahead/Digitisation_of_Vital_Events.asp

The DOVE GRO contact is Steve Lloyd. His e-mail address is



GRO information from:
Lesley Unsworth
Civil Registration Review Project
General Register Office

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