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Scotland's Population 2012: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends 158th Edition

Chapter 9 - Statutory Registration - Accuracy

Statutory registration in Scotland was introduced over 150 years ago. One of the key aims was to establish and maintain a complete and uniform system of registration. Accuracy in the registers of births, deaths and marriages was recognised as important from the outset, and in 1856, it was deemed necessary to create the post of district examiner to inspect the registers in order to guarantee their accuracy. Today there are still three district examiners responsible for examining all 150,000 records created annually. The utility of the registers themselves as an archive and the variety of uses, to which the information contained in them is put, is dependent on their accuracy and probity. Extracts from the statutory registers (commonly called certificates) are legal documents admissible as evidence in the courts.

In modern times, statutory responsibility for delivering the registration service in Scotland passed to the 32 local authorities. The service is relatively small, but extremely professional. Registrars are expected to have an expert knowledge in the law and practice of registration and to posses particular skills to help them deal with often difficult human circumstances concerning bereavement. To support them in that work and to ensure sufficiently high standards of service are met, registrars are usually expected to study for, and attain, the Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice of Registration (the numbers of certificate holders in each local authority are contained in the Performance Indicator in Table 9.1).

The Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice of Registration in Scotland is recognised by the Association of Registrars of Scotland (ARoS), the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) and the National Records of Scotland (NRS), as the professional qualification for registration staff. The certificate is awarded and administered by an Examination Board consisting of representatives of ARoS, CoSLA and NRS. The Examination Board was inaugurated in 1937 and the first examination was held in 1938.

The statutory landscape in which registrars are expected to operate is increasingly complex, in the last ten years there have been ten Acts of Parliament (listed below) which have had a significant effect on registration law and practice.

The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 (the 2002 Act) - provided for civil marriage at approved places.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers) Act 2003 - enabled deceased fathers to be recorded in birth entry.

The Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 - new and very complex, Home Office rules affecting the legal preliminaries for foreign nationals who want to marry or enter into civil partnerships in the UK.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 - new provisions to allow individuals to change gender legally and new registration procedures flowing from that.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 - new provisions to allow civil partnerships to be entered into legally and registered.

The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 - abolition of legitimacy and acquisition of parental rights and responsibilities for unmarried fathers who register the birth jointly with the mother.

The Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 - first major overhaul of principal registration statute for over 40 years.

The Adoption (Scotland) Act 2007 - new provisions to enable same sex adoption.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 - new provisions to allow same-sex couples to have fertility treatment (assisted conception) and to register as parents of a child.

The Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011 - new death registration provisions to enable checks to be made on causes of death.

Legislative change affecting registration is a good reflection of a changing society. For example, The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provided for a legal change of gender.

Year

Number of Changes of Gender in Scotland

2005

47

2006

43

2007

30

2008

16

2009

18

2010

18

2011

24

2012

13

With a constantly changing legislative backdrop, and in the face of large scale structural changes affecting how services are delivered, registrars have achieved excellent accuracy. Every year since 2007, registrars in the 32 councils have achieved an average of over 97% of the records they create error free - an impressive performance which underpins the quality and reliability of our records and the statistical data published in this Annual Review. The Performance Indicators in table 9.1, compiled from the district examiners' reports, provide a council by council breakdown of performance in 2012.

Table 9.1: Registration Service - Performance Indicators 2012 (by Local Authority)1

2012 Events 2 2013 Local Authority Data 3
Local Authority Births Deaths Religious Marriages Civil Marriages Total Marriages Civil Ptnr'ships Still-births All Events % of Entries Without Corrections No of Entries with Errors Dedicated Registration Offices Integrated Customer Service Offices Number of Certificate Holders
Aberdeen City 3,044 2,127 451 453 904 19 19 6,113 97.51% 152 1 0 6
Aberdeenshire 2,539 2,122 737 565 1,302 9 14 5,986 97.68% 139 0 12 15
Angus 1,036 1,235 242 229 471 5 2 2,749 98.58% 39 3 0 7
Argyll & Bute 771 1,061 588 480 1,068 11 3 2,914 97.87% 62 0 10 2
Clackmannanshire 656 537 84 94 178 3 4 1,378 98.98% 14 1 0 3
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 236 386 70 47 117 0 0 739 95.40% 34 1 3 2
Dumfries & Galloway 1,429 1,849 2,194 3,056 5,250 73 5 8,606 96.97% 261 8 9 17
Dundee City 2,147 1,983 172 382 554 18 5 4,707 98.15% 87 1 0 4
East Ayrshire 1,364 1,300 190 262 452 5 7 3,128 97.03% 93 0 8 15
East Dunbartonshire 1,411 1,853 118 107 225 3 3 3,495 98.66% 47 0 3 3
East Lothian 1,101 1,220 340 188 528 7 2 2,858 97.59% 69 0 5 11
East Renfrewshire 1,168 1,300 174 150 324 4 7 2,803 97.04% 83 0 2 5
Edinburgh, City of 5,886 4,064 1,181 1,764 2,923 139 29 13,063 97.96% 267 2 2 21
Falkirk 1,834 1,658 323 475 798 7 7 4,304 98.33% 72 2 4 7
Fife 3,952 3,683 890 751 1,641 28 23 9,327 97.62% 222 0 8 11
Glasgow City 7,153 4,995 1,398 1,397 2,795 102 32 15,077 98.53% 222 2 0 20
Highland 2,459 2,251 878 810 1,688 19 16 6,433 97.64% 152 1 26 15
Inverclyde 763 955 156 69 225 2 3 1,948 99.13% 17 0 1 4
Midlothian 773 738 205 184 389 4 4 1,908 96.65% 64 1 0 3
Moray 922 986 180 187 367 2 1 2,278 98.77% 28 0 4 4
North Ayrshire 1,387 1,511 333 385 718 9 10 3,635 99.09% 33 2 3 20
North Lanarkshire 3,945 3,548 545 438 983 11 14 8,501 98.91% 93 0 8 14
Orkney Islands 199 214 77 37 114 1 1 529 97.35% 14 1 1 1
Perth & Kinross 1,237 1,571 507 534 1,041 13 5 3,867 97.80% 85 2 5 4
Renfrewshire 1,975 1,991 356 275 631 7 7 4,611 97.87% 98 1 2 6
Scottish Borders 1,230 1,310 266 398 664 13 6 3,223 97.86% 69 12 0 6
Shetland Islands 273 202 46 55 101 1 0 577 97.57% 14 1 0 2
South Ayrshire 1,002 1,398 524 377 901 14 5 3,320 99.28% 24 0 2 10
South Lanarkshire 3,470 3,724 536 616 1,152 16 16 8,378 96.98% 253 0 4 22
Stirling 874 841 375 333 708 12 3 2,438 98.40% 39 2 4 5
West Dunbartonshire 906 866 255 139 394 4 8 2,178 98.94% 23 1 0 7
West Lothian 2,212 1,504 556 328 884 12 14 4,626 96.91% 143 6 1 3
Grand total 59,354 54,983 14,947 15,565 30,490 573 275 145,697 97.93% 3,012 51 127 275

1) Reported by the District Examiners.
2) Includes all events registered in 2012 (including Re-registrations).
3) Excluding offices operating from another location.

More information about registration

More detailed information about registration in Scotland can be found in the Registration section of the NRS website.

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