HC Deb 12 December 1946 vol 431 cc273-4W
110. Sir W. Darling

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider taking steps to delete the word adopted from the birth certificate where adopting parents are accepting full and final responsibility for the child and its future.

Mr. Bevan

The document normally produced by an adopted child as evidence of age is not a birth certificate, which would give particulars of his natural parents, but a certified copy of an entry in the Adopted Children Register which gives the date of birth but substitutes particulars of the adopters for particulars of the natural parents. This document in its full form necessarily contains references to adoption, but as intimated in the reply to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Keeling) and others on 5th December, I hope to introduce legislation permitting the issue of shortened extracts from the Adopted Children Register which will contain no reference to adoption.

Forward to