Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Adults and Community which informed the Members of the findings of the recent Inspection of the Halton Registration Service (attached at Appendix 1).

 

            The Board was advised that the delivery and administration of civil registration was a partnership between local government and the General Register Office (part of the Identity and Passport Service). In 2007 registration officers became local authority employees. This, together with the creation of a new governance framework, provided local authorities with greater responsibility and opportunities to develop the delivery of local registration services. To date some 93 local authorities, including Halton, have adopted the new governance arrangements, and committed to the national Code of Practice / Good Practice Guide.

 

The Board was further advised Halton had adopted new governance arrangements in July 2007. The terms of reference for the review were agreed with the Proper Officer for Registration and the Registration Service Manager / Superintendent Registrar on 29 April 2010 as follows:

 

§         To examine the technical proficiency of staff in relation to marriage activity and service attainment against related Good Practice Guide standards;

 

§         To examine the service’s Key Performance Indicator monitoring systems and service attainment;

 

§         To examine the customer journey whilst accessing the service and attainment against related Good Practice Guide standards;

 

§         To identify existing strengths and offer recommendations for improvement; and

 

§         To report on any other noteworthy issues identified during the review.

 

In addition, the review noted the following:

 

§         Observation of the Superintendent Registrar and other registration officers performing statutory duties revealed a very good standard of technical proficiency;

 

§         The register office make good use of electronic and manual recording systems which work well in monitoring service performance in respect of appointment availability, customer waiting times and certificate applications;

 

§         The Registration Service’s attainment against Key Service Performance (set out in Appendix B of the report);

 

§         Customer access to the Registration Service was excellent across the district with additional service points providing convenient access;

 

§         Initial customer contact via the Council’s contact centre worked very well, although there was scope to extend its role and responsibilities in relation to the registration service; and

 

§         Staff display excellent customer care skills and a willingness to ensure that customers were fully informed and met all their needs.

 

It reported that there was scope for improving storage space for deposited registers as the strong room had exceeded capacity and consideration would need to be given on how to deal with this situation.  It was suggested that a way forward could be to scan the registers and store them in controlled conditions at the Cheshire Record Office.  In response, it was agreed that this could be done, but highlighted that this would require a considerable amount of time and money to complete as there were a significant number of records.  It was also highlighted that current records (under 100 years old) would need to be kept on site as frequent access was required.

 

It was also suggested that a report be presented to the Board at a future meeting outlining various options for storage and digitising the records.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)                     The findings of the Board be endorsed;

 

(2)                     the Board review the recommendations in accordance with the report; and

 

(3)                     a report be presented to a future meeting outlining various options for storing and digitising the records together with the associated costs.