§ Mr. Brewisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the normal registration office hours, and whether he will take steps to ensure that they allow for registration of births and deaths to be 208W made without the informant having to take time off during usual working hours.
§ Mr. RossThere are no standard registration office hours applicable throughout Scotland. It is for the local registration authorities with the approval of the Registrar General to fix the hours of business for registrars, and the hours vary from one district to another according to circumstances, including public demand. In sparsely populated districts there may be no set hours, the part-time registrar being expected, so far as possible, to meet the convenience of informants. When a birth or death has to be registered there are several persons qualified to act as informants and normally there should be no need in any district for the breadwinner in a household to take time off work in order to attend at the registration office.