APPENDIX K
Response from the General Register Office to the
Committee Specialist dated 26 November 2004
Proposal for the Regulatory Reform (Registration
of Births and Deaths) (England and Wales) Order 2004: response
to request for information
I have considered the further submission the National
Council for Archives(NCA) have sent to the Regulatory Reform Committee
and in view of our discussions I thought that it would be helpful
to set out my observations.
In summary, it appears that NCA are proposing that
each local authority prepare a scheme for the Registrar General's
approval that will set out arrangements for the preservation,
storage and access to the original registers (of births and deaths).
This goes further than their response to Civil Registration: Delivering
Vital Change where the NCA argued that clear (legal) obligations
should be placed on local authorities.
At first glance it seems to us that the latest proposition
has some merit but it would require much wider consultation (with
local government and The National Archives especially) and detailed
consideration as to its legal, administrative and financial implications
before we could reach a firm view. Moreover should this imply
higher expenditure then I can give no guarantee that funding would
be forthcoming. I would also be concerned that such a development
has not been factored into our Regulatory Impact Assessment.
More generally though it is questionable whether
formal arrangements are necessary given our general strategy to
give responsibility for local registration services to local government.
The obligations set out in s.224 of the Local Government Act 1972
together with a reference to Records in the Code of Practice (Article
14 and Schedule 4 of the draft Order)supported by appropriate
guidance would seem to us to be sufficient.
Further it is our intention that following digitisation
of our records access to records should mainly be electronic and
that is why the reference in Schedule 4 is only to storage.
As there is some lack of clarity about their proposition
we have suggested to NCA that they meet with us discuss these
issues.
26 November 2004
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