Registration service set for further improvements

Press release - 18 June 2007

Registration service set for further improvements

Shropshire’s registration service could soon be even more responsive to the needs of local people, after Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet approved plans that would give the council full responsibility for managing the service.

Shropshire County Council’s registration service is responsible for the registration of births, marriages and deaths, plus services including the management of civil weddings, civil partnerships and civil naming ceremonies, and the provision of a nationality checking service. It runs 13 registration service points across the county.

Currently the way the registration service operates must be approved by the Registrar General, and the council is unable to make even minor changes to services without going through a lengthy and detailed process to gain their approval.

The new proposals - approved at the county council’s Cabinet meeting on 13 June - would make it much simpler to make improvements to the service by letting the council make decisions on issues such as opening times, location of offices and staffing levels. Currently these are determined by the Registrar General.

It is hoped that the changes will be in place by 1 October this year, subject to consultation with registration service staff, residents and other stakeholders.

Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet member for community well-being, said: “These changes would make it much easier to improve Shropshire’s registration service in response to the needs of the local people who use it. They will also help to strengthen local management and accountability of the service.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff we already provide a modern, effective and high-quality registration service for the people of Shropshire. These changes, if implemented, will ensure that Shropshire’s registration service is even better and ranks as one of the best in the country.”

The new arrangements would also see the county council, through the Chief Executive, assume responsibility for producing an annual performance report, developing a service delivery plan, regularly reviewing and consulting on the effectiveness of the service, and managing resources.

To gain these enhanced local powers, Shropshire’s registration service has had to adopt a national code of practice, and provide evidence of having adhered to it via an annual stewardship report and a series of inspections.

And the recent award of the government’s Charter Mark means that much of the work required to implement these arrangements has already been undertaken.

ENDS

(1) Charter Mark is the national standard that recognises excellence in customer service. It places an emphasis on setting standards, consultation, openness and cooperative working and is open to all areas of public service, including central and local government, health, education and housing

(2) Shropshire’s registration service points are located in Bishop’s Castle, Bridgnorth, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ellesmere, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry, Shifnal, Shrewsbury, Wem and Whitchurch.

For further information, call Richard Thomas, Democratic Services Manager, Legal & Democratic Services, on (01743) 252725.
For media contact, call Gareth Proffitt, Communications Officer, on (01743) 252828.