I have received a letter that Ruth Kelly MP (the minister responsible for birth marriage & death records) has written to my MP in response to the questions that I put to him on access to birth and death records when the law changes.
She says:-
"... Paragraphs 21.8.15 to 21.8.18 of the Explanitory Document explain that it is accepted that the proposals for accessing civil registration records must be compatible with the provisions of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, both in terms of rights of access for adopted people and of the responsibilities and role of Adoption Support Agencies. The draft RRO allows adopted people to access restricted information on registration records for adoption purposes and will allow them [to] trace birth relatives. Guidance will be drawn up, in consultation with the Department for Education and Skills (the Department with lead responsibility for policy on adoption matters), setting out the evidence that would be required to prove that an applicant is adopted. ...."
I think that we really do all need to keep our eyes and ears open to what ever 'consultation' takes place and make sure that our needs and wishes are heard and not just the views of the social work organisations which will be consulted.
Robin Harritt
http://harritt.net
.