§ Lembit ÖpikTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances parents can apply for the birth certificate for their child to be issued in Welsh; and if he will make a statement. [112190]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Lembit Öpik, dated 13 May 2003:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the circumstances under which parents can apply for the birth certificate of their child to be issued in Welsh rather than English. (112190)For a birth occurring in Wales, if the entry in the register is in Welsh and English, then the birth certificate will be bilingual. There is no current provision in law for a birth certificate to be issued in Welsh only.
§ Lembit ÖpikTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department has issued to local registrars on the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language to parents who have made this request; and if he will make a statement. [112191]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Lembit Öpik, dated 13 May 2003:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the guidance issued to local registrars over the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language. (112191)As Registrar General, I issue instructions and guidance to registration officers in England and Wales. The form of entry in the registers of births is prescribed. For Wales, it is bi-lingual and the particulars may be recorded in Welsh and English or in English only. Registration officers are instructed that on issuing a certified copy of an entry in a birth register it must contain the details as they appear in the register. Consequently if the details in respect of a birth in Wales were recorded in Welsh and English then any certified copy will contain the details in both languages. If the details were recorded in English only they will appear on the certified copy in English only.