§ 54. Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the steps to be taken to make available registers of births, marriages and deaths for public inspection and research after the expiry of 100 years.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergA proposal is being considered to transfer to the Public Record Office all records over 100 years old of births, deaths and marriages currently held in the General Register Office. The Lord Chancellor is presently awaiting a report following a study of the possibility of bringing together all the records in the custody of the Public Record Office on a single site at Kew, where it is hoped that space will be created for the deposit of the General Register Office records. Once a decision is made it will be possible to estimate the probable length of time before these records can be opened to public scrutiny.