§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent, and what other contributions have been made, by the General Register Office and the Registrars of Births and Deaths towards the costs of correcting the problem of duplicate NHS numbers. [19102]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Kevin Barron, dated 19 March 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your recent question on how much has been spent by the General Register Office and the Registrars of births and deaths towards the costs of correcting the NHS duplicate number problem.To date, the Office for National Statistics (incorporating the General Register Office) has spent £33,000 on discussions with the NHS Executive, analysis of problems causing duplicate NHS numbers for babies, and planning and programming software changes. Registrars of births and deaths have not spent money on correcting the NHS duplicate number problem.In addition, advice and instruction have been given to Registrars during routine helpline work. This is provided as part of the General Register Office day-to-day support of the local registration service.