§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those purposes for which his Department and its executive agencies require a birth certificate to be furnished by(a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment or contracts and (d) other persons. [85317]
§ Mr. ByersIn DTI and some of its agencies a birth certificate is one of a variety of documents which applicants for jobs may choose to offer as proof of identity and of age, for pension services, prior to or at recruitment. It is a mandatory requirement in the Radiocommunications Agency, the Patent Office and the National Weights and Measures Laboratory. In the event of the death of a Departmental employee in service, his or her children's full birth certificates are required in order to verify dates of birth for dependants' benefits under the relevant pensions arrangements. Contractors are responsible for establishing proof of the identity of their employees. Birth certificates are not required routinely for any other Departmental purposes; however, they can be offered by claimants under the Enemy Property Compensation Scheme to help establish the validity of such claims in particular lines of inheritance; and they may, in very limited circumstances, be demanded under a number of statutory powers of investigation, for example under Section 434 of the Companies Act 1985.