§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the fee payable to the clergy for notification of a burial under the Births and Deaths Registration Act; when the fee was fixed; if he is satisfied with its adequacy; and if any change is envisaged.
§ Mr. Alec JonesI have been asked to reply.
The duty of notifying burials to registrars of births and deaths was introduced by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926. That Act provided that where the incumbent of a parish was the person responsible for sending the notification the fee payable to him in respect of a burial should be increased by sixpence. This supplement to the burial fee has not been altered and amending legislation would be needed to increase it. The fees payable to incumbents in respect of burials in England are included in the table of parochial fees established by the Parochial Fees Order 1972 made by 590W the Church Commissioners under the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1962.
To relieve the clergy of the cost of postage and envelopes the Registrar-General, with the agreement of the Treasury, has already put in hand arrangements by which incumbents will be provided with reply-paid envelopes for sending notifications to registrars. These arrangements will be brought into operation as soon as the necessary supplies of envelopes are printed.
§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee or reimbursement of expenses is payable to the clergy for the making of returns, including nil returns, under the Marriage Act 1949; if he is satisfied with the adequacy of the amounts; and if any change is contemplated either in the amounts or in the system of notification.
§ Mr. Alec JonesI have been asked to reply.
A fee of 25p is payable for every entry in the certified copies of entries in the marriage registers which the clergy supply to the Registrar-General. The returns are rendered quarterly, and if there have been no marriages registered in any quarter a nil return is required. The Marriage Act 1949 made no provision for a fee to be paid for a nil return but provided for a fee of sixpence to be paid for every entry in the certified copies. The fee was increased to ninepence in 1952 under powers conferred by the Local Government Act 1929, and to three shillings in 1968 and again to 25p in 1972 under powers conferred by the Public Expenditure and Receipts Act 1968.
I do not consider that any further increase is justified at present, but this fee will be included in any future general review of fees payable under the Marriage and Registration Acts. No change is contemplated in the system which is designed to ensure that a complete record of all marriages is available at the General Register Office.