Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on average waiting times for appointments to register a death at register offices in England and Wales; and what assessment she has made of the impact of any delays on bereaved families, including in relation to continued payment of pensions and benefits pending registration.

Monitoring by the General Register Office for England and Wales shows good appointment availability to enable the registration of deaths within the 5-day statutory time period.

While no formal assessment has been made on the impact of delays on bereaved families, the Government’s work towards transforming the death registration process will allow the bereaved to register deaths remotely. This will further help to ensure that a death can be registered without delay, alongside minimising the burden on bereaved family members at a difficult time.