§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of records of births, marriages and deaths held by the General Record Office have been micro-filmed; [31476]
(2)when he plans to make micro-filmed copies of births, marriages and deaths held by the General Records Office available to the public; [31475]
(3)what charges he will make for public access to micro-filmed records of births, marriages and deaths held by the General Records Office. [31474]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar-General. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Murrison, dated 29 January 2002:
As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions on microfilmed records of births, marriages and deaths. (31474, 31475, 31476)The General Register Officer holds paper copies of all records of births, deaths and marriages registered in England and Wales from 1837 to September 2001. Those for the remainder of 2001 are expected from registrars very shortly. All records up to and including those for 2000 have been microfilmed. Microfilming of birth and death records for 2001 is underway. However, an index is essential to find the appropriate record. Computerised indexes are only available for records dating from 1983.On 22 January, the Government published the White Paper 'Civil Registration: Vital Change'. It includes proposals on access to registration records and their computerisation.Legislation is needed to implement these changes and will take at least two years. Phased implementation will follow. Charging arrangements will be determined as part of implementation.