Friday 2nd May 2008
The new Registrar General for England and Wales, James Hall, was appointed today. Mr Hall is also Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).
He becomes the eighteenth Registrar General since the civil registration of births, deaths and marriages began in England and Wales in 1837.
His appointment by The Queen was made following the transfer of the General Register Office (GRO) to IPS - an executive agency of the Home Office - on April 1 this year.
James Hall said:
“I am delighted and honoured to take on the historic role of Registrar General following the transfer of the General Register Office to its new home within the Identity and Passport Service.
“I am especially looking forward to working with our partners in local government who deliver registration services to the public to ensure this continues to be an excellent customer-focused and effective service.”
The Registrar General is appointed by the Crown to act as the head of the GRO.
The GRO oversees registration services to the public and its remit extends over a range of aspects relating to civil marriage preparation, celebration and registration and the registration of births, deaths, stillbirths and adoptions.
It is the Registrar General’s responsibility to make the regulations that govern the duties of registrars and the registration processes. He is also required by law to create and make publicly available a free index of registration records for searching purposes and to issue certificates on request for a prescribed fee.
For more information about the Registrar General and the GRO, log on to www.ips.gov.uk/gro
Notes to editors
1. The Registrar General (RG) is appointed by The Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
2. The RG is the head of the General Register Office (GRO) which was created in 1837. Since that time the technology employed to administer civil registration has changed, but the process to register an event in person in the area the event occurred remains virtually unchanged.
3. The GRO provides guidance and support to local registration officers who administer the process of civil registration. This includes civil marriage preparation, celebration and registration and the registration of births, deaths, stillbirths, gender recognition and adoptions.
4. The GRO’s work covers registrations made in England and Wales. GRO Scotland and GRO Northern Ireland remain the responsibility of the devolved administrations. Each has a separate Registrar General.
5. The registration service is delivered in partnership with 172 local authorities who employ around 1,500 registration officers. Their duties are set out in statute but they work under guidance and instruction from the Registrar General and the GRO.
6. The GRO in England and Wales became part of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) on 1 April as part of moves to make the Office for National Statistics more independent of Government through the creation of the Statistics Board and UK Statistics Authority.
7. The GRO is responsible for providing ministers with advice on civil registration which from time to time requires ministerial involvement.
8. As both the Identity & Passport Service and the General Register Office for England & Wales work to safeguard people's identities, provide people with an identity in society and provide secure documentation to help people prove their identity, IPS and the Home Office is a natural home for the GRO.
9. James Hall replaces Karen Dunnell as Registrar General, who resigned as Registrar General today. She will continue in her role as National Statistician.
10. For more information call 020 7035 3535 or log on to www.ips.gov.uk/gro
