[Robin Harritt]

Sorry folks yet another set of difficult documents to study and write to your MP about. The Draft Regulatory Reform Order on Proposals to modernise Civil Registration was presented to Parliament on the 22nd July 2004. It costs £15 to buy the printed version and there are over 400 pages in total much of which is probably not of great concern to most us here. However if you wish to download and print it print the relevant bits you may do so from

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ab...ad/index.asp#0

I'm told you can find the most relevant part by scrolling down to Proposal presented to parliament - select 3rd link GRO doc that explains the Regulatory Reform Order go to page 273 but I haven't put that to the test.

Some of you may remember that we discussed this last year, the original proposals would have seriously impacted upon anyone searching for a birth relative in the future. I have not had a chance to see how the proposals have been changed but NORCAP seem hopeful that campaign undertaken by the adoption community as whole will have resulted in various changes. However I suspect that this Order will where adoption searching is concerned put even more power in to the hands of Adoption Support Agencies and that may be something that some of you would whish to write to your own MPs about.

So far the most disturbing part of it as far as I am concerned is that the it does not apparently change its previous definition of family which is far too narrow and that it does not recognise that birth relatives have any right to search for adopted members of their family other than through an Adoption Support Agency which as you know can deem your search to be inappropriate and refuse to continue it.

No doubt you will all be downloading and reading and will be giving me your initial opinions on it in the near future. I would be good if we could get a wider discussion of this going than we have had on the Access to Information Regulations. If we all study it together we might have a better chance of understanding it.

Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

*

[LegalZone]

For those of you who understand that there was a Regulatory Reform Order laid before Parliament on the 23 July 2004 and which is now before the Regulatory Reform Committee. You will understand that now is the time to make your representations to that Committee. You have until Friday 17 September 2004 to do so.

Past representations that you have made to MPs etc including response forms, have already been looked at and as a result this Regulatory Reform Order makes many major changes to the proposals published for consultation in July of last year If you do not know how to make a representation to the Regulatory Reform Committee then please read the following web page.

http://www.parliament.uk/parliamenta...003_04__14.cfm

Whatever you do, please don’t just ignore this. It is every bit as important as the Access to Information (Pre-Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2004 that we just all been discussing, in its impact on adopted people and birth relatives who search for each other.

The Regulatory Reform Order and an explanatory document about it can be downloaded from

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ab...ad/index.asp#0

and I have extracted the parts of the explanatory document that apply to the adoption community and put them on a webpage at

http://civilregistration.harritt.net

and for some perspective you can see my response to last year’s consultation in PDF format at

http://rhresponse.harritt.net


Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

*

[Robin Harritt]

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

.

[Robin Harritt]

I have just received a press notice telling me that the Regulatory Reform Committee will start taking oral evidence on the proposals for changes to birth and death registration law from 9.35am on Tuesday 26 October in Committee Room 8 at the House of Commons. This session will hear the Society of Registration Officers, Unison (their union) , The Federation of Family History Societies and the National Archive Council.

Although this law will have a tremendous effect on adopted people and birth relatives who are searching for each other, I doubt there will be anyone to speak on our behalf at any session. It seems to me that no one could be the slightest bit bothered to even read the Order which was laid before Parliament two months ago on July 22 and make a representation to the Committee by 17 September
It looks to me as if they win by default.

The documents relating to this are at

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regu...als.asp#births

Should anyone be the slightest bit interested.

If you end up having to pay a social worker way over the odds to get certificates with full details for you instead of being able to get them yourself. And having a social worker or someone else decide if it is appropriate for you to have a full certificate. Then that will be the fault of anyone who could not be bothered to take an interest at this stage.

I shall try to keep people informed about this, but I get no feedback at all. I feel that I am wasting my time. I do believe that people think that they wrote to their MP two years ago and that was all they needed to do. That will all have been long forgotten about by now, this is another round.

Robin

http://harritt.net

[Robin Harritt]

The will be another evidence sesion on Tuesday 2 November at 10 am in the Committee Room at the House of Commons when evidence will be taken from Steven Timms MP Financial Secretary to HM Treasury (the department responsible for birth marriage and death registration).

Robin

[Robin Harritt]

You can hear the debate from Tuesday 26th at


http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Console.aspx?Encoding=1996

The Federation of Family History Societies evidence starts about a third way through and the problems of adopted people is briefly discussed.


Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

[Robin Harritt]

You can hear the Tue 2nd November evidence session on http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Console.aspx?Encoding=2044 sound quality is very poor. Some debate on whether such important legislation should be dealt with entirely by regulatory reform order or whether there should be a full parliamentary debate at some time before the whole thing goes on line.

Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

[Robin Harritt]

I have just received a notice dated 8 December 2004 from the Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Commons to the following effect.

The Regulatory Reform Committee has concluded

"That the order-making power under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 should not be used in respect of the proposals contained in the proposal for the Regulatory Reform (Registration of Births and Deaths) (England & Wales) Order 2004, which was laid before the House on 22nd of July, in the last session of Parliament."

The Committee's full report is to be published as its Second Report of the 2004-05 Session and is expected to be published within eight working days.

The text of the report will be available on the Committee's website from 3.30 pm on the day of publication. (http://www.parliament.uk/reform).

So it just shows what can be done, sometimes common sense wins. But no doubt the current government will try to get its intensions introduced into law in some other way. We must all remain vigilant and fight any such attempt.

Robin Harritt

http://harritt.net

[Robin Harritt]

For those interested enough to read the Committee's Report.


http://www.publications.parliament.u.../118/11802.htm


Robin Harritt


http://harritt.net

[Robin Harritt]

The House of Lords Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform also recomended that these proposals not be dealt with by Regulatory Reform Order see its report published 15 December 2004

http://www.publications.parliament.u...eg/14/1402.htm

[Malos]

I missed all this

[Robin Harritt]

Originally Posted by Malos

I missed all this

What's hapening there then? Can Canadian adoptees even get their own OBC yet or is the government having a 20 year debate on it as an excuse for doing B***ger all?

Robin

[Robin Harritt]

Registration modernisation


Following the debacle of its last attempt to introduce new legislation via a Regulatory Reform Order, the General Register Office have just released the following

REGISTRATION MODERNISATION
A position and consultation paper on the delivery of the
local registration service in England and Wales

The documents can be downloaded from the links on the following page

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ne... on_paper.asp


Having given it a quick scan, the most important parts as far as we who are involved with adopted adults and those separated from family by institutional and long-term foster care are concerned, the most important parts are following. But I am concerned to note that the list of organisation whose views they particularly seek does not include any of the groups who represent those affected by adoption or separation from family by other forms of care. I am also concerned to see that GRO's records of adoption are again left out of the consultation.

________________________________________________

ANNEX 1

ACTION REQUIRED TO PROGRESS THE MODERNISATION
OF CIVIL REGISTATION (yes their spelling proof reading really is that bad)

4. Records Management

Changes requiring primary legislation:

􀂾 develop a system where records relating to the same person can be linked – ‘a through life record’

􀂾 extend the definition of registers held by the Registrar General, and enable other records to be added to the central database, and to link these records to birth, marriage and death records

􀂾 the introduction of a new framework for accessing records.

5. Statistics

Changes requiring primary legislation:

􀂾 enable the range of statistical information required to be collected at birth and death registration to be varied more easily

􀂾 consider including within a legal framework the information currently
collected voluntarily at birth and death registration.

Responses required by Monday, 20 February 2006

______________________________________________


Please remember what almost happened in the last attempt to change birth marriage and death records in 2004 where we almost lost our right to much of the information contained in recent records. Please remain vigilant and keep your MP informed of what is happening and how it affects your rights.

Robin Harritt


http://harritt.net


*