First Delegated Legislation Committee

1 September 2026

Contents updated on 1 Sept 2026

The Minister introduces the draft Regulations, explaining the shift from paper to fully electronic registration for births, stillbirths and deaths, and sets this in historical context. She outlines how electronic signatures, remote registration (telephone/online), identity verification routes, inclusivity measures, and cybersecurity standards (including GDS Good Practice Guide 45) will preserve legal integrity while improving flexibility and efficiency.

First Delegated Legislation Committee Tue, 1 Sept 2026 Actual start 16:15 House of Commons

15:48 - 17:44

Speaker 1

It's a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Stringer.

In keeping with wider efforts to improve the accessibility of public services, these regulations form part of the government's program to modernize the registration of births, stillbirths, and deaths in England and Wales. They support the move from paper registers to a fully electronic registration system while preserving the integrity, reliability, and legal certainty that have always been central to civil registration. Before turning to the detail, it may be helpful if I provide some historical context. Since 1837, the registration of a birth, stillbirth, or death has involved an individual attending a register office and signing a paper register in ink. Although that process has served the public well, it reflects a system designed for a different era.

As public services increasingly make use of secure digital technology, it is right that the registration system keeps pace. The instrument before the committee will aid us in that endeavour. These regulations will mean that instead of requiring a handwritten signature in a paper register, if a person complies with certain specified requirements at the time of registering a birth or death, they will be treated as having signed the register and, where relevant, in the presence of the registrar. Removing the requirement for physically signing the register in the presence of the registrar where required will enable us to offer more flexible ways for the public to provide information for a registration in the future, such as over the telephone or online using a portal on gov.uk, securely, at a time to suit the individual without having to visit a register office. They will still have the choice to attend the register office in person to register an event.

It is important to emphasise that this is not about lowering standards or reducing safeguards.

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