Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what alternatives are available for registering a birth where the local registrar has closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and how the 42-day legal deadline will be dealt with in such circumstances.

Information for a birth registration is legally required to be given in person by a qualified informant before a registrar. The General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) has advised that birth registration appointments should, where possible, be deferred while the current measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 are in place. Where there is an urgent need for a birth to be registered, GRO and Local Authority registrars are considering how this can be achieved on a case-by-case basis within public health guidance and local authority policy.

The requirement for births to be registered within 42-days of the date of birth is not currently being enforced. Longer term planning to ensure all births are registered will be aligned to public health guidance.