§ Mr. W. J. Brownasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that serious inconvenience and expense are being caused to the public and particularly to men serving with the forces, owing to the evacuation of the staffs of the General Register Office to Blackpool, while the registers still remain in London; that applications for certified copies of birth certificates are often taking from two to four weeks to supply, as all postal applications received in London have to be sent to Blackpool and then sent back to the searching staff in London; and whether, as the contemplated transfer of the registers from London to the North West has not taken place, he will now bring the staffs concerned with this work back to London.
§ Mr. WillinkNo, Sir. The average time taken for the issue of a birth, marriage or1416W death certificate is from three to six days from the date of the receipt of the application at Blackpool, where all postal applications for certificates are directed by the General Post Office. In those cases where this period is exceeded, it is almost invariably because the applicant has given incomplete information. Evacuation does not cause any additional expense to the public in respect of postal applications. I am not aware of serious inconvenience being caused to men serving with the Forces. The return to London of the staffs concerned with this work would not be warranted on the facts, and would not be in accord with present policy.