§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 30 January,Official Report, column 715, what factors led to the introduction of the 688W Deregulation (Still Birth and Death Registration) Order 1996; and what account was taken of the additional expenditure burden on local authorities. [14043]
§ Mr. HoramThe White Paper "Registration: proposals for change" (Cm 939), published in 1990, recommended that it should be possible to register a death or still birth by means of a declaration made in a sub-district other than the one in which the death or still birth occurred. In 1995, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight) introduced a ten-minute Bill to give effect to these changes. The Bill failed to gain a Second Reading because of the pressure on parliamentary time. Finally, I am advised by the Registrar General that he has received many letters over the years from members of the public urging him to implement this particular proposal.
There was also significant support amongst those consulted about the proposed deregulation order, including the local authority associations, for introducing the measure. It was acknowledged that the likely take-up of the facility for giving a declaration would be minimal. It was felt that the improvement to the service offered to the bereaved would far outweigh the burden of the small amount of any additional postage and telephone costs.