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Legislation Monitoring
Registration Modernisation
In November 2005, the Government published a consultation document "Registration Modernisation" which outlined proposals to give local authorities in England and Wales greater responsibility in delivering a local registration service.
The FFHS was one of the 149 organisations which sent in a response. The FFHS endorsed the main proposals to introduce a new governance framework for the local registration service, but urged the Government to ensure that a consistent standard of registration service was provided by all local authorities in England and Wales. The FFHS also urged the Government to draw up agreed procedures to check regularly that all local authorities were complying with the national standards which it plans to introduce.
In May 2006, the Government announced that it intended to proceed with the modernisation of the local registration service at the same time as it published the responses to the consultation paper.
The Post-consultation Report may be found at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/news/Registration_Modernisation_consultation_results.asp (total of 19 pages) or hard copies can be obtained from Lesley Unsworth, Civil Registration Modernisation Project, Room 203, General Register Office, Trafalgar Road, Southport, PR8 2HH.
As there was a clear consensus from respondents in favour of a new governance framework for delivering a local registration service, the Government stated on 25 May 2006 that it will press ahead with implementing the revised arrangements.
The General Register Office will work with local authorities and LACORS [Local Authority Coordinators of Regulatory Services] to develop a timetable and guidance for local authorities who wish to opt into the new arrangements. The process will take note of specific comments from respondents to the consultation paper. This has already started with a draft Good Practice Guide being issued to local authorities for comment. Once agreed, the Good Practice Guide will be reviewed at least every two years.
The Government also stated in its written statement that it does not expect that the digitisation of GRO records will have any significant impact on the demands for certificates locally. Neither are there any plans to legislate in the foreseeable future to restrict or remove the local issue of certificates.
Richard Ratcliffe
FFHS Legislation Monitoring Officer
June 2006