GROS Strategic Corporate, General and Key Business Objectives for 2007-08

On-going

To review annually Scotland's registration service, improving standards and availability to meet the expectations of the public and the local authorities who run the local registration service on behalf of our Department

By December 2008

The 2006 Act implements recommendations from 2000 and 2005 consultations on improvement of the civil registration system in Scotland. The legislation offers greater customer flexibility, e.g. the ability to register a Scottish birth or death in any Scottish registration office. The majority of the Act’s provisions are in force but some key provisions remain to be brought into effect, e.g. the Book of Scottish Connections, which will allow life events outwith Scotland to be recorded in Scotland, and the ability to provide information on births and deaths via the internet (e-registration) rather than attend a registration office.

To complete the implementation of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 (apart from e-Registration) and instruct OSSE on and manage the associated subordinate legislation

More flexible and customer focussed registration system in Scotland.

A modern, efficient and more user friendly registration service.

May 2007

The registration service in Scotland is delivered by registrars employed by the 32 local authorities. Registrars operate under the instructions of the Registrar General. Their work and the records they create are subject to formal examination by a team of District Examiners. The data collected by the District Examiners informs Performance Indicators which the Registrar General provides to the local authorities annually.

To improve standards in the registration service by district examiners measuring the accuracy and probity of the registers and by reporting on these in April 2007 to the Registrar General and the 32 local registration authorities (local authorities) in Scotland. This will enable the publication of annual performance Indicators by end-May 2007.

Year on year improvement in the performance indicators of Scottish registration service (accuracy and real cost).

This will result in a more efficient and effective registration service, and cement the close working partnership between GROS and the 32 local authorities.

October 2007 [December 2007 — to match other GROs]

GROS will operate in conjunction with the General Register Offices for England and Wales (GRO E&W) and Northern Ireland (GRONI) a new system to Disclose Death Registration Information (DDRI) to licensed bodies under controlled arrangements. The licensed bodies will use the information to prevent fraud using the identity of deceased people.

To work with GRO E&W and GRONI to conclude the present consultation (end-March 2007) and initiate the DDRI scheme (October 2007). To represent GROS interests on the "Board" of the 3 GROs that will administer the scheme (to March 2008).

See below

The DDRI scheme should reduce the scope for identity fraud.

Ongoing

In cooperation with the 32 Scottish local authorities, to administer in Scotland the civil registration of vital events — births and deaths, plus stillbirths, marriages, civil partnerships, divorces and adoptions — and the statutes relating to the formalities of marriage and the conduct of civil marriages and civil partnerships

By December 2008

The 2006 Act implements recommendations from 2000 and 2005 consultations on improvement of the civil registration system in Scotland. The legislation offers greater customer flexibility, e.g. the ability to register a Scottish birth or death in any Scottish registration office. The majority of the Act’s provisions are in force but some key provisions remain to be brought into effect, e.g. the Book of Scottish Connections, which will allow life events outwith Scotland to be recorded in Scotland, and the ability to provide information on births and deaths via the internet (e-Registration) rather than attend a registration office.

To make changes to Scottish registration process and practice in light of implementation of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 (apart from e-Registration).

More flexible and customer focussed registration system in Scotland.

To provide a modern, efficient and more user friendly registration service.

December 2008

The Scottish Executive is reviewing the arrangements in Scotland for burial, cremation, death certification and the clinical governance of medical practitioners, following the Shipman Inquiry reports. GROS contributes to both reviews.

To implement changes relating to the death certification and registration processes required as a result of both Reviews, such as the provision of more focused statistics and revision of the medical cause of death certificate by dates to be set by the Scottish Executive.

To contribute to reduction in risk of future Shipman-like cases.

To help to improve the means of certifying fact and cause of death and to make improvements to the registration service recommended by the Review.

Ongoing

Scottish Executive Civil Contingencies Unit and local authorities are developing practices to minimise the effects of a pandemic episode in Scotland. GROS contributes to this by providing data on deaths during a pandemic episode and by issuing information and guidance to Scottish local authorities on the death registration process.

To contribute to the work of the Scottish Executive Civil Contingencies Unit (SECC) and local authorities on Pandemic Planning by advising on registration procedures and by issuing guidance to local registration authorities (timed to coincide with issue of SECC Guidance).

As below

To minimise the effect of a pandemic on the registration service and to facilitate the registration of additional deaths caused by a pandemic episode.

On-going

To support the civil registration of vital events and the making available of genealogy records through the development and provision of IT resources, systems and digital images. Also, to preserve the registration records and certain other public records through the creation of microfiche/film.

July 2008 (e-Registration of births); July 2010 (e-Registration of deaths)

The Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 allows the registration of births and deaths via the internet rather than attend a registration office.

To develop and pilot a secure system for the e-Registration of births, with safeguards in place to prevent possible identity fraud.

See predicted outcome below

An alternative service channel for births (and later deaths and still-births) that will allow informants to register these events using a computer attached to the internet, without the need to visit a local registration office.

March 2008

The Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 includes new provisions about sharing registration information. The UK Identity and Passport Service also has new powers to request registration information about people who have asked for a passport to be issued.

To design, specify and put in place a technical infrastructure for sharing registration information.

See predicted outcome below

To give GROS the technical capacity to implement data sharing objectives within Scotland and to play a full part in UK wide data sharing exercises.

March 2008

GROS carries out an all-Scotland Census every 10 years. The personal information gathered is closed to the public for 100 years. GROS plans to rationalise its long term storage arrangements for closed Census data and is taking the opportunity to digitise these records and the 1939 database used by the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR). GROS is also making digital images of the NHSCR records. In addition, the 1911 Census records need to be prepared for public release.

To ensure that a good quality product is obtained from the digital imaging of NHSCR and 1911 to 1961 Census records and the indexing of NHSCR and 1911 Census records

See predicted outcome below

Quicker access to their source documents for the staff of NHSCR, and the creation of a suitable product for the eventual public release of the 1911 Census. Reduction of risk of damage to the closed Census records.

On-going

To help members of the public access the open public records held by the Registrar General for Scotland through the search rooms at the GROS office at New Register House and to sell customers formal extracts from the records, ordered over various media.

December 2007

With the opening of the ScotlandsPeople Centre for family historians, GROS needs to set up new arrangements for people who want extracts ("certificates") from the birth etc registers.

To restructure the public counter and back office which allows people to order, and which delivers, extracts from the registers.

Turnaround times for extracts issued in response to mail, fax and telephone orders should be reduced to 8 working days instead of the current 10 working days.

One main area producing extracts for GROS and the ScotlandsPeople Centre which should enable faster and more efficient processing of extract business.

On-going

GROS, the National Archives of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon wish to improve access to the records that they hold, particularly those records that are available in digital format. To carry out the development of ScotlandsPeople in a combined family history centre in Edinburgh, to provide internet access to the digital records and to encourage local authorities to develop family history projects involving their local archivists and local registrars.

March 2008

GROS, in partnership with the National Archives of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon, is developing a new family history centre (the ScotlandsPeople Centre).

To deliver a professional and smooth running ScotlandsPeople Centre giving visitors access to a professional software genealogy system.

Ensure readiness for opening of Centre by November 2007 (full facilities by March 2008) and that staff and customers are happy with the new facilities.

Improved service for family historians & tourist attraction.

March 2008

To deliver a high-quality, effective ScotlandsPeople pay per view website giving customers ready access to an augmented range of genealogy records (including heraldic information by December 2007 and death/burial entries from Old Parochial Records by March 2008).

As below

To improve usage of the website and revenue streams. To reduce number of customer queries.

March 2008

Local authorities should be encouraged to establish local family history centres to promote local learning and education for the people of Scotland and attract visitors.

To encourage the establishment of collaborative local family history centres and to identify by March 2008 which local authorities are eligible to receive the ScotlandsPeople Centre software.

See below

Local registrars and local archivists work together and are able to access the ScotlandsPeople Centre software at their local centres and the local records are properly preserved.