Command Paper Ser. : Vital Change - Birth, Marriage and Death Registration in the 21st Century

Following on from a consultation paper 'Registration: Modernising a vital service' published in September 1999, this White Paper sets out the Government's proposals to modernise the civil registration system in England and Wales. The aim is to establish a framework for the registration of births, deaths and marriages that makes full use of electronic information systems, in order to provide more choice, improved service delivery, and more integrated information. Proposals include: local registration services will become the responsibility of local authorities to allow for greater flexibility to meet needs of communities; registration of births and deaths online and by phone; more choice for couples on marriage venue and ceremony; new services provided by register offices, such as baby naming and reaffirmation of wedding vows; electronic access to historic records and the eventual computerisation of all records dating back to 1837; greater security for recent records under 100 years old, in order to balance privacy and openness; and more integrated use of electronic-based civil registration information, for example using birth registration information to carry out identity checks for passport or driving licence applications.