HC Deb 17 December 1912 vol 45 cc1308-9W
Mr. NIELD

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the practice now in force in the Registrar-General's Department at Somerset House does not permit an applicant searching to verify the date or any particulars of the birth, marriage, or death registered without payment, in addition to the search fee of 1s., of a further sum of 2s. 7d., the fee for a certificate of such registration; and whether, having regard to the hardship to the poorer members of the community who are called upon to pay the last-named sum for every registration inspected in the course of their search for the entry they require, he will cause the Registrar-General to revert to the old practice, and enable the entry to be examined for the 1s. search fee?

Mr. MASTERMAN

I understand that the statutory duty of the Registrar-General is limited to allowing the indexes of the registers to be searched, and that it is not possible consistently with the convenience of the public to permit general searching among the actual entries in the registers. This has accordingly been prohibited since 1900. In view, however, of representations recently made to the Registrar-General, it has been arranged that as an experiment applicants should be allowed to see the actual entries in those exceptional cases in which they can show to the satisfaction of the Department that it is impossible for them otherwise to identify the entry. The fee of 2s. 7d. is paid, not for the search, but for a copy of the entry.